The Signal
by ApertureGaming011
Summary: Mute and lacking an arm and a leg, Haneul 'Jane' Park leaves her home country of Korea and arrives to Stardew Valley to continue her grandfather's legacy which is his farm. Meanwhile, a introverted raven-haired boy known as Sebastian Callahan, who is working to escape the valley, starts to feel a change due to the arrival of this new challenged farmer.
1. PROLOGUE: Loss

**PROLOGUE: LOSS**

 _ **15th of Summer, 2008, Agria Farm, Stardew Valley of Ferngill Republic**_

"Grandpa! Wake up! Wake up! I wanna see my chickens!" 7-year old Jane shouted in Korean, shaking her sleeping grandfather violently.

"Why, of course, Haneul! Did you brush your teeth like your teacher taught you?" Her grandfather asked.

"Of course, grandpa! Look!" Jane replied, showing her white shiny teeth. Her grandfather gave a smile through his beard.

"That's my granddaughter! Be a good girl and wait for me to get ready!" Her grandfather remarked, looking at the clock. "Oh dear! It's seven o'clock! It's Sesame Street time!" He added.

"Eww, I wanna watch Pokémon! I want a Charizard!" Jade pouted.

"Alright, alright! Give me a break, Haneul!" Her grandfather assured her, waking up. He headed for the bathroom and washed up. He came out of the washroom to find Haneul cheering in front of the TV. Pokémon was on, as usual. He gave a smile as he prepared breakfast of milk and cereal.

"Ash, why are you such a dummy? You don't use a bug type against a fire type!" Jane screamed at the screen.

"Now, now Haneul. Breakfast is ready." Grandfather said, taking a seat. Jane leaped from the floor and sat on her chair. She poured some cereal with milk and started shoveling it into her mouth. Her grandfather laughed as milk splattered all over her face. She finished her food in less than a minute and ran out of the cottage.

Haneul 'Jane' Park was a peppy little girl with long black hair. Her Korean parents took her to her grandfather every summer vacation. She was raised with masculine ways such as videogames. She loved her grandfather as he seemed to always be there for her. Jane immediately ran for the coop and swung open the door. She flopped down on a block of hay as the chickens ran to her. She giggled as they cuddled next her. When she heard her grandfather entering, she hid inside the block. However, the tickling sensation of the hay made her giggle, blowing her cover. Her grandfather quickly found his granddaughter in the hay and picked her up with great strength. Jane laughed, and so did he. "There you are, my little princess!" Her grandfather said.

"Aww, no fair!" Jane pouted.

"Sam and Abigail came here. They want to play with you!" Her grandfather said.

"Sam? Abigail?! Hang on, guys! I'm coming!" Jane gasped as she released herself from her grandfather's grasp and ran for the cottage. She picked up her satchel and pulled out her Gameboy Color. She also made sure that her Pokémon Gold cartridge was inside. With that out of the way, Jane ran out of the cottage to find Sam Arvidel and Abigail Berneau accompanied by their parents just outside Agria Farm. "Hey guys!" Jane chirped, hugging Abigail. Sam was 10 years old while Abigail was 8, making Jane the youngest among her friends.

"Aw, no fair! Why not me?" Sam pouted. Jodi and Kent laughed at their son's response.

"You didn't give me that Skarmory yesterday! It's your fault, Sammy boy!" Jane replied, sticking her tongue out. "What's your Pokémon level, Abby?" She asked Abigail.

"My Typhlosion is level 43, Steelix is level 39, Dragonair is level 40, Quagsire is level 38, Pidgeot is level 37. Wait… my Haunter is level 30." Abigail replied. Jane turned on her Gameboy to check her pokemon. She gave a grin when she saw her level 53 Meganium.

"Thank you for bringing your kids to our farm, friends." Jane's grandfather came and thanked the Berneau and Arvidel family. "Alright, kids! It's time to see your plants! You can play your videogames later!" he said to the children.

"Aww, grandpa! We were about to battle!" Jane pouted. Her grandfather simply gave a warm smile and lowered her Gameboy. "Okay." Jane sighed. Grandfather walked to the center of the farm where Sam, Abigail and Jane planted their own crops. It has been two weeks since they planted the seeds. Sam's plant was already bearing blueberries. Sam screamed with joy when he saw the blue fruits dangling from the plants. Abigail's and Jane's plants were also growing well, but Jane's one was smaller than her friends'. "Grandpa, what did I do wrong? Why is my plant so small?" Jane asked.

"Haneul, you promised that you would tend your plants yourself. This is what your efforts rewarded you." Her grandfather replied. Jane gave a sigh.

"Hey, wanna come over? Last one in is a rotton egg!" Abigail chirped as she ran out of the farm.

"Wait for me!" Jane shouted as she chased the purple haired girl. Jane's grandfather gave a silent laugh as he watered the plants that his granddaughter and her friends planted.

"Meganium, use earthquake!" Jane shouted as she pressed the A button of her Gameboy. It was a one hit KO as Sam's Rapidash had low defense. Jane cheered as she cherished her first victory of the day.

"Aw, I never won against you, Jane!" Sam pouted.

"Sam, you don't know how to use your Pokémon properly! Fire is weak against ground!" Jane remarked. As she turned her head acting like a valiant hero after a victory, she saw a small figure peeking beside the general store's wall. Jane squinted her eyes to see that the figure was a boy with long black hair. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and was looking gloomy. Curious, Jane approached the boy. She ignored the callings from Sam and Abigail. The boy quickly hid himself behind the trash bins but was quickly discovered by Jane. The boy squirmed into a fetal shape with fear surrounding his body. "Uh… hi." Jane greeted him.

"I don't speak to girls." The boy replied, shivering.

"Aw, why?" Jane asked.

"Don't talk to me." The boy said, pushing Jane away. Jane stopped him by tugging his arm.

"Hey, can't boys be friends with girls? I have a lot of boy friends, you know!" Jane said. The boy glared at her as if she said something surprising.

"…Can we be friends?" The boy asked.

"Of course! What's your name?" Jane asked.

"My name is Sebastian. I am…" the boy replied, counting his fingers. "…10 years old." He concluded. "What's yours?"

"My name's Haneul Park, but people call me Jane. I'm 7 years old! Nice to meet you!" Jane chirped, holding Sebastian's hand. "Wanna play with us?" She asked. Sebastian nodded. Giggling, Jane dragged the boy to her friends where he nervously greeted them. When Sebastian finished with his introductions, Abigail stopped him from running away.

"Let's go to the mountains! I heard there are spooky monsters there!" Abigail said with an intimidating voice. Jane giggled as she always loved monsters in the Final Fantasy games.

"M…monsters? Can we please go back to Jane's farm?" Sam asked, shivering.

"Scary cat! Come on, guys!" Abigail said, sticking her tongue out. The gang ran to the mountains with Jane grabbing Sebastian by his arm.

"Ooh, it's so dark in here!" Jane remarked as the gang walked into the entrance of the mines.

"Follow me, guys! This way!" Abigail shouted as she climbed down a ladder.

"Guys, I don't know about this." Sam said, with fear covering his words.

"Don't be a scary cat! Nobody likes scary cats!" Jane replied, following Abigail in. "Last one in is a rotten egg!" She added. Sebastian hurried inside with Sam following shortly. The cave was dark. Thankfully, Sebastian had a flashlight with him. He turned it on, brightening the room. Just over the cave, the gang saw something. It was green and jellylike.

"Look, it's a slime!" Abigail remarked. It was approaching them. Sam was sobbing. He was scared.

"I miss mommy already…" Sam sobbed, hugging Sebastian.

"Hey, get off of me!" Sebastian grunted. The slime was now about three meters away from Jane.

"Aww, it's so cute! I wanna ask grandpa if I can keep him!" Jane said. Suddenly, the slime leapt from where it was and onto Jane's neck, releasing its acidic cytoplasm. Jane was struggling to breathe while she screamed in pain for help. "HELP! HELP! IT'S HOT HOT!" Jane gagged. Horrified, Sam and Sebastian bolted for the ladder. Abigail, on the other hand, drew her kitchen knife and stabbed the monster multiple times until it let go of her friend and slither away.

"Are you okay, Jane?!" Abigail asked, checking on her friend. She gasped in horror. The skin that covered Jane's throat was gone, with coagulated blood gushing from her wound. Jade struggled for air despite the slime not being there. She made inaudible noises as if she was trying to say something. Not knowing what to do, Abigail dragged her incapacitated friend up the ladder. "We need to take her to the clinic!" Abigail exclaimed. Sam and Sebastian nodded and helped their friend hold the patient. They carefully took her to the clinic.

"JANE!" Jane's grandfather barged in the clinic with concern in his eyes. "Harvey, where is he?" He asked Harvey Van Veen the new and young doctor of Pelican Town.

"Your granddaughter is in the room to the right. Follow me, please." Harvey replied. Grandfather nodded and followed the young man into a room with a single bed. He witnessed her granddaughter in patient's robe with an IV stuck on her throat. Her friends surrounded the bed. Jane's grandfather, horrified, fell to his knees and looked at her daughter. Her eyes moved to him, but she didn't utter a word.

"Jane, Haneul… oh my princess, are you okay?" Grandfather asked with tears dwelling from his eyes. When he found the wound in Jane's throat, he turned to her friends, who were shivering in fear. Filled with rage, he grabbed Abigail's collar and shook her violently. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER?!" He bellowed. "ANSWER ME, YOU PIPSQUEEKS!" The children shivered in fear.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Park…" Abigail whimpered. She started to cry as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Sorry is not going to put it, young lady! Stop crying at this instant!" Jane's grandfather commanded. "Did you go to the mines?" He asked. Abigail nodded in response. "There are horrible creatures down there that are ready to hurt you all and you still wanted to go there? Can't you see what they've did to Jane?" He continued. He turned to Harvey, who was checking on the medical machines. "Harvey, will she be fine?"He asked.

"She will be fine. What concerns me the most is the toxic material I've found in her larynx, which is the voice box. If we don't operate now, she will receive permanent paralysis through her body." Harvey replied.

"I'll pay however you want to keep my granddaughter well. What are the consequences?" Grandfather asked. Harvey gave a worried face as if he's not going to like it.

"The consequence… is that Jane won't be able to speak for the rest of her life. Our current technology isn't advanced yet for such treatment. I'm sorry." Harvey said with sadness mixed in his words. Grandfather gave a sigh. He dearly loved his granddaughter, but the thought of not being able to hear her happy voice again pained him so much. Without any options left, Grandfather opened his mouth.

"Very well. I'll accept the surgery. Please keep her alive." Grandfather said. Tears dwelled in his eyes, making Harvey sob.

"I'm so sorry that I had to tell you this. We have to operate now before the toxins spread." Harvey said, pushing the bed towards the operating room.

Abigail and Sam were being scolded by their parents when Harvey opened the operating room covered in blood. All the attention was focused onto him. "Mr. Park, the operation is successful. We've managed to remove the toxins without much difficulty…" Harvey said. Everybody except Grandfather gave a sigh of relief. "… in exchange of her life, she has lost the ability to speak. I'll get her here immediately." He added, walking back into the operating room.


	2. CHAPTER 1: Legacy (Jane)

**Author's Notes: This story will be divided into the perspective of Jane and Sebastian.**

 **CHAPTER 1: LEGACY (JANE)**

 ** _24th of Winter, 2018_**

"…With that, we conclude the 23rd graduation ceremony of Junghwa High School. Thank you for all of our parents for coming." The principal said through the microphone. It was done. Jane was finally getting out of the hell known as high school. "Congratulations, Haneul! We're so proud of you!" Jane's mother called out. Jane simple gave a smile, accepting the bouquet. Her uncle ordered her family to gather around for a photo. _SNAP!_

18 year old Haneul 'Jane' Parker was a mute high school graduate. Her multiple injuries from her past self made her mangled with cybernetics. In fact, she was the victim of multiple accidents of the past that resulted in the loss of her right arm and left leg. Although she could continue walking or study thanks to a rudimentary form of prosthetics, Jane was left with a scar that she couldn't cleanse for the entirety of her life. Her disabilities made her the laughing stock among her class. Only three of the students, one male and two female, understood her and were considered as true friends for Jane. Now through the graduation, Jane's shackles were now gone. She promised her friends that she will keep in touch and embraced each other before departing for her apartment. Despite her difficulties, she received the highest grade amongst her entire school, making her draw attention of the greatest universities of Korea. "Haneul, we are so proud of you! You were accepted by Yonsei University!" Jane's father exclaimed. Jane simply gave a giggle of approval.

 _I'm glad, too!_ Jane responded with her hands. However, deep inside her was a different story. She was worried about the shackles that the university will use against her. She tried her best to hide her true thoughts and signaled her parents that she wished to change and have some rest. Her parents nodded and she closed her room door behind her. Inside, Jane immediately stripped her graduation gown along with her school uniform. She wasn't going to need them anymore. She dressed herself into her comfortable clothes: black tank top with black short pants. Feeling the comfort, Jane turned her Xbox in her room on and played a few rounds of Halo 5 despite the dwindling console community of the country. Just then, a knock on her door was followed by her father holding what looked like a black chest.

"Haneul, I forgot to give you this. Grandfather told me to not give it to you until you have graduated high school." Jane's father said, handing the box to her daughter.

 _What is it?_ Jade asked with her hands.

"I don't know. Your grandfather was a very strange person, even to me." Father replied. Jane gave a shrug and thanked him. Her father gave a smile and closed the door behind him.

'Why would grandpa leave this far from me?' Jane thought as she opened the chest. There were two sealed envelopes with one enclosed with a purple wax and the other with a flag of Ferngill Republic with it. There was also a wallet that Grandfather always used and a picture of him, Jane, Sam and Abigail when she was six years old. With shaky hands, Jane broke the purple seal and opened the letter. She unfolded the yellowed paper and read what was written.

 _Dear Haneul, or Jane as you wish,_

 _I would like to congratulate you in your graduation! It has been years since I've last heard you speak. Anyway, I have heard from your parents. You are suffering due to your disabilities of muteness. Perhaps you may have received more. The modern world is a harsh place, my granddaughter. People with disabilities are considered as defects and are frowned upon._

 _I wish to grant you salvation and help you grow real connections between people and nature. I remember that you loved Agria Farm like your videogames, Haneul. Thus, I wish to give you my greatest gift, perhaps the greatest dowry: My farm. I know you remember where it is: Stardew Valley of Ferngill Republic. I have enclosed the deed to that place along with some of the currency of the country._

 _I know you will honor your family name, Jane. Your very presence makes me proud. Good luck, my precious princess._

 _Additionally, if the Lewis McLengst is still the mayor, please tell him that I miss him as a great friend._

 _Yours truly, Jungsung 'Peter' Park, your Grandfather_

Jane started crying. She could made sobbing sounds, but no words could form. She was so grateful for her grandfather as he knew that her future would be grim. She opened the second envelope to find the deed to Agria Farm. 'Thank you, grandpa.' Jane thought. Sealing her determination, Jane stormed out of her room to say her decision.

"What?! You want to decline the University acceptance?!" Jane's mother exclaimed. Jane nodded confidently.

 _Grandpa was right all along. I have something better inside me. If I want to redeem myself from all my disabilities, this will be my final decision!_ Jane signaled.

"You've worked so hard in your studies and you're going to throw all of it away for manual labor?!" His dad asked.

 _If I can't go, who else will?_ Jane signaled.

"What about your money? Your friends? Us? Your brother, Minsoo? Do you even have the money to even buy a flight ticket? What if you get stuck in the airport?" Mother asked.

 _Mom, I am a grown up woman, and I am ready for anything the world will throw against me. Judging by my past experiences, my true friends live in Stardew Valley! Besides, brother is in the military_ _conscription!_ Jane signaled. She stood still like a rock. Her parents looked at each other and gave a sigh.

"Well, Haneul, if this is what you wish to be, perhaps it shall be as you say. If you need help, tell us." Father concluded with a sigh. He stood up from the couch and walked to his room. He returned with his phone. "Do you know the website of that place?" He asked.

 _I'll go search it in my computer now._ Jane signaled as she limped back to her room. She booted up her computer and opened up Chrome. She searched all around the web until she finally found the Pelican Town's website at the ninth Google Page. The web page was all white with the font of the page in Calibri. The title of the page wasn't elaborate like the usual websites that she goes on like Naver. She found a page inside the website about a large plot of land that is unavailable due to the loss of the deed to that place. Jane quickly knew why: The deed was with her. She found the phone numbers of the mayor and someone named Robin Callahan. What was fortunate was that Robin's Skype ID was also written there, too. Jane copied the email and pasted it on her mail. Cracking her hand, she started typing.

 _Dear Mrs. Callahan_

 _I am interested in the large land that seems to be unavailable in your Town website. Fortunately, I am the granddaughter of Peter Park, the past owner of the Agria Farm. As I have a deed to that place, I wish to speak with the Town Mayor._

 _PS- As I have a serious condition of muteness, is it possible to be with a mute translator? I'm afraid that sign language might not work well in Skype._

 _My Skype ID is gksmf2001_

 _From- Haneul 'Jane' Park_

Jane sent the mail and sat close to her monitor waiting for the response. At the same time, her father entered her room with a plate of sliced pears. "Did you contact them?" He asked.

 _Yes, I'm waiting for their response now._ Jane signaled. Her father nodded.

"In a meantime, you should contact Minseo, Jiwoo and Hyunsoo. I'm sure they are concerned about you." Father esponded, placing the plate on Jane's desk and exited the room. Jane gave a grin. The three are Jane's only friends in Korea. The other schoolmates weren't warm hearted as they constantly mocked her with oral game when they clearly knew that she couldn't speak. In fact, Jane and her friends were considered as outcasts of their society. They played Xbox together, watched foreign YouTube channels like Pewdiepie and mostly listened to foreign rock and metal but balancing it with some K-Pop music. Not knowing what to do, Jane swiped through her music library in her phone and turned on Cheer Up by TWICE. While dancing to the song while sitting down, she chatted with her friends talking about a hangout until Jane received a mail notification.

'Already?' Jane thought. Indeed, the sender was Robin Callahan. She opened the mail and read it carefully.

 _Hello, Jane!_

 _I'm Robin, the carpenter of Pelican Town! I have contacted Mayor Lewis about your interest in Agria Farm. I have never seen him so happy ever since he was with your grandfather! Anyway, he is on his way here to talk with you about the business part. Please prepare your pencil and paper because there is nobody here that can read sign language. I'm deeply sorry._

 _PS- My Skype account is CarbonFiber79._

 _Yours truly, Robin Callahan_

Jane gave a nod. She cleaned the computer camera and made sure it functioned properly. Just as she reloaded her mechanical pencil, her Skype call rang. The caller was indeed CarbonFiber79. She received the call. The screen that showed the other caller had two people: A middle-aged woman with red hair and an old man with a peasant's cap. "Hello? Can you hear us, Jane?" The old man said with a heavy Irish accent, making Jane giggle. She quickly wrote _yes_ on the paper and showed it to the camera. "Good, good. Hello, Jane! It's good to see you well! I remember seeing you when you were such an outgoing child. My, you haven't changed much! I'm Lewis McLengst, mayor of Pelican Town!" The old man said. Jane quickly wrote on the paper. _It's nice to see you, too._

"Oh, I should introduce myself." The woman said. "My name is Robin, the one you've sent the mail to. I remember you when you were just a kid, too!" She added. Jane gave a giggle and wrote on the paper. _I remember, too. You are baby Maru's mom, right?_ "Why, yes I am!" Robin remarked.

"Anyway, we are here to speak about the Farm. First, may we see the deed?" Lewis asked. Jane gave a nod and rummaged through Grandfather's chest. She picked up the deed and showed it to the camera. "Ah, yes. I remember that deed. The governor of the Falmart Province and I wrote that thing with our own hands. Dear, it reminds me of my old friend." Lewis remarked. "So, where are you now?" He asked. Jane quickly wrote ' _I live in Korea with my family'._ On the paper. Her hands were getting tired now.

"Ooh, really? It must be a long way from here!" Robin remarked. Jane giggled. The chat went on for twenty minutes until she received a text message from her friends. Jane wrote that she needed to hang up. They said goodbyes and closed the Skype call. Her friends apparently wanted to hang out with her. Jane gladly accepted and asked her father to help book a plane ticket to Ferngill Republic. Luckily, she had just enough money from her savings to pay it off herself. Seeing that it is all ready, Jane packed her stuff. She packed a few clothes, her pencil box, notebook, painkillers and some books that she was interested in. Her father promised her that he will pack her Xbox and her computer when she arrives at the Farm. Hearing this, Jane thanked him and went outside. The first thing she did was purchase as much instant food as possible. She packed instant noodles, instant rice, packaged Kimchi, instant soup and a box full of chips. She then walked to the restaurant that she and her friends promised to meet. During the walk, phone service buildings and barbecue diners plagued the streets. There weren't that much traffic as the street was quite small. However, as she took the bus for the inner part of the city, the view was plagued with the advertisements of Joja Corporation. Ever since its arrival to Korea at 2017, Companies such as Samsung started to lose its revenue. Jane was greeted by her friends Jiwoo, Hyunsoo and Minseo. They were her only friends. They walked to the barbecue diner that they promised to be in and talked about how they will shape their futures. Jane was happy to be with them as they were the only people who knew sign language. When Jade told her friends that she will be going overseas to tend her grandfather's farm, they were flabbergasted, but still supported her decision anyways. They drank soju and ate pork belly until it was 9 o'clock at night. Jane hugged her friends goodbye and promised to keep in touch.

Three days has passed. It was 27th of Winter 2018, the day that Jane would leave her country and go for Agria Farm. Her family including her brother Minsoo followed her to the Airport Subway for Incheon International Airport. She kissed her family goodbye and and walked for the Boarding Pass security booth. Although tears streamed from her eyes as her family became less visible, Jane wiped them off as she thought of the new life her grandfather is about to give.


	3. CHAPTER 2: Report (Sebastian)

**CHAPTER 2: REPORT (SEBASTIAN)**

"Can't you see I'm working here?" Sebastian called out to the perpetrator of the knocker of his room door. Sebastian Callahan was a freelancer programmer to whoever pays him the most. He wasn't going with his family very well ever since his father disappeared in the mines and was replaced by Demetrius, his dark-skinned stepfather. He was forced to live in the basement, feeling abandoned.

"Sebby, it's urgent. Mayor Lewis told us to go to the Stardrop Saloon!" Robin, Sebastian's mother called out from the door.

'Ugh, what does that old guy want from me?' Sebastian thought as he saved his work and shut the monitor power. He had been saving up to escape the Valley and perhaps live in Niobius City. Giving a grunt, he took his packet of cigarettes and walked outside of his room where his mother greeted him.

"Are you ready to go, Sebby?" Robin asked.

"Whatever." Sebastian replied, walking for the door. He was immediately stopped by her.

"Sebby, I don't remember teaching you to speak to your elders like that. Don't ever do that again, understand?" Robin raised her voice.

"Okay." Sebastian replied, opening the house door. He slowly walked down the mountain, taking a cigarette and igniting it. He took a drag as he observed the sun set before his eyes. It was beautiful, but his mind was plagued with negative thoughts. He seemed like he was covered in loneliness despite having a dysfunctional family on his side.

The Saloon was already bustling with people when the Callahan family opened the door. Several people greeted Demetrius and Robin while Sebastian was practically ignored. Sebastian gave a sigh as he walked to the leisure room where Sam and Abigail were talking to each other while asking each other what is happening. "Yo, what's up, bro?" Sam called out as the raven-haired boy entered the room.

"Not much." Sebastian replied as he high-fived his blonde friend. "Oh, hey Abby." He said to Abigail.

"Hi, Seb!" Abigail chirped as she played the Xbox One that was plugged in the TV. She was awfully bad at playing Halo 5. "Damnit, that freaking bastard keeps killing me with that Scorpion!"She exclaimed as her character evaporated.

"Maybe it's just that you suck. Get a rocket launcher and get rid of it!" Sebastian said, taking a look at the screen. Abigail gave a sigh of disappointment and continued playing.

"So, Seb. I challenge you to a match!" Sam said, pointing his cue at his friend as if he was a knight in shining armor. Sebastian gave a smirk and grabbed his own cue. He rubbed the point with some blue chalk and broke the balls with the cue ball.

"Your move." Sebasitian smirked. Sam nodded and bent over to take his shot. He was indeed filled with determination, making Sebastian laugh. Hearing his friend's laugh, Sam flipped him off and went for his shot. However, his overconfidence made him miscalculate his aim and sent the cue ball into a pocket.

"Damnit!" Sam swore. Sebastian chuckled at his failure. Just then, Mayor Lewis called everyone to the counter.

"Alright, I suppose everyone is here! Come to the counter for the news!" Lewis exclaimed. "Gus, please turn the TV off." He added.

"Definitely, mayor." Gus Guicollini, the bartender complied, turning the TV that was hanging on the ceiling off. When Lewis confirmed that everyone was gathered, including the Teenager Trio, he opened his mouth.

"Now, this is something that we haven't encountered since the arrival of the Laveri Sisters…"

"Will that large patch of land finally be sold?" Marnie Lannister interrupted.

"Is there a newcomer?" Emily Laveri asked.

"Will I ever get a girlfriend?" Sam jokingly asked. Sebastian punched him in the shoulder, smirking.

"…Now, now, let me finish. Does anybody remember Peter Park, our old farmer who left us a few years back?" Lewis continued. Several hands skyrocketed up. "Well, her granddaughter, Jane, is coming to retake Agria Farm." He said. The saloon started to become noisy. "But we must remember something: She is mute." The saloon's atmosphere became even more noisier.

"Granddaughter? Wait, who was that?" Sam asked. Just then, something in Abigail's mind clicked.

"Oh my god! You don't remember Jane?!" She exclaimed. Sam and Sebastian shrugged.

"Well, I remember hearing… wait… OHH!" Sebastian exclaimed, punching his palm. The memories, despite being short, flooded back in his mind. He remembered that this Asian girl warming his heart and introducing him to her friends, who were Sam and Abigail. He remembered the disaster that struck this girl which stole the ability to speak.

"So when will the new farmer come here?" Maru asked.

"She will come at 27th of Winter, so… we have two days. Here what we will do. Robin, Leah, I want you two to refurbish the cottage. Sebastian, you set up the internet. Emily and I will pick her up from the Arcadia International Airport. Lastly, Gunther, try to order some books about sign language!"

"Jawohl, Herr Lewis!" Gunther replied.

"We shall start our work tomorrow. That's all." Lewis concluded, wearing his peasant's cap and walking to a table.

"I can't believe she's coming back! I'm so excited!" Abigail squealed as the Trio headed back to the leisure room. Sebastian sighed.

"Well, I guess you are." Sebastian said, picking up his cue stick. He took his shot and pocketed two balls at once. Little did his friends know that his heard skipped a beat when he remembered who this girl was. She was the first person to talk to him. He indeed wanted to see how much Jane had changed. 'No, I need to concentrate on this game.' He thought as he pushed the thoughts away. Sam had performed the worst mistake ever in a game of pool: Pocket the 8-ball before anything else. Sebastian stood as the victor once again. It was 9 o'clock when everybody started to leave the saloon. Sebastian followed his family back to the Carpenter's shop. He climbed down the stairs to his room and continued his work on his project. He couldn't let his client wait and he needed the money to pay rent once he successfully leaves for Niobius.

The alarm in his phone rang. 8:00 AM. Sebastian usually doesn't set it and wakes up at around 10 o'clock. However, with the newcomer on her way to Ferngill Republic, he needed to wake up early to get more things done for her arrival. He washed up to make sure every spec of drowsiness was wiped from his face. Seeing that he had shaved every hair from his face, Sebastian gave a nod and changed to his usual black hooded long sleeved shirt. The days were getting warmer and longer as the calendar pointed closer to Spring of 2019. He walked out of the room and was greeted by the rest of his family on the dining table. "You woke up early, Seb." Demetrius said, not letting his eyes escape the newspaper.

"Yeah, I did." Sebastian replied, taking some bacon and eggs from the large plate at the center of the table. "I do what I gotta do." He added, cutting an egg.

"Sebby, I'm so happy that you woke up so early for your family!" Robin remarked, pouring some coffee in her son's mug. Sebastian simply gave a shrug.

"I wouldn't have to if it weren't for the new farmer." Sebastian said.

"That's not a nice thing to say." Maru butted in.

"Shut up, Maru." Sebastian grunted, taking a bite of his egg.

"Seb, don't treat your sister like what an Alpha Wolf would against his pack." Demetrius intervened, raising his voice. "Say sorry to Maru or I will sell your computer." He added, taking a sip from his coffee.

"I'm sorry." Sebastian grudgingly apologized to his half-sister. The Callahan family continued with their breakfast with pure silence until Robin and Sebastian finished their meal. They placed their dishes in the sink and Robin quickly cleaned them as Sebastian waited for her while watching YouTube on his smartphone. When Robin finished with the dishes, she signaled her son and they headed outside.

The trek down the mountain and to the remains of Agria Farm took at least thirty minutes. Robin was encumbered by the sheer weight of her tools. Sebastian, on the other hand, was holding another bag of Robin's materials. Thus, he was practically in the point of collapsing. When the two reached the Farm, or what was left of it, they were greeted by Leah Kjellsten, the artist student of the Valley. While Robin and Leah worked on refurbishing the cottage, Sebastian fell into deep thought. He remembered how Jane ended up losing her ability to speak. However, he didn't remember how it exactly happened as he and Sam ran for the ladder as soon as the slime attacked Jane. He remembered himself cowardly running from the clinic and back to his house after the gang dropped Jane in there. He remembered crying in the lap of his mother. He thought he made a friend for the first time in his life until her friends ruined the moment. His thought train was interrupted by Robin shoving his shoulder. "Sebby?" Robin asked.

"Yeah?" Sebastian asked, snapping back to reality.

"Are you okay? You were sweating despite snowing!" Robin exclaimed. Sebastian found himself sitting down on the porch of the cottage.

"I'm fine, trust me. What do you need?" Sebastian asked.

"We have some holes that we need to fill in, but our materials are too heavy for just us two to lift it inside. Can you help us?" Robin asked with puppy dog eyes, making Sebastian cringe.

"Alright, fine." Sebastian replied, walking to the wheelbarrow full of materials. Just as Robin's words said, they were heavy. He sometimes wondered how his mother manages to work with these objects. "Uh, aren't' you guys going to help?" Sebastian asked. Leah dashed out of the cottage and helped him along with Robin. Together, they hoisted a pile of logs into the cottage across the snow. As Robin thanked him and Leah and she hammered down the logs onto the gaps of the cottage, Sebastian decided to walk around the property for a while. As he took a drag from his cigarette, he looked around the scenery surrounding him as he walked. The overgrown forest that towered to the sky mesmerized Sebastian. The only thing he loved more than this was looking over the Gem Sea when it rained. As he walked around while avoiding twigs that could result in tripping over, he encountered Abigail who was swinging her sword at the air. He chuckled at how Abigail massaged her shoulders between every swing.

"Seb, what are you laughing at?" Abigail asked, hearing Sebastian's chuckle.

"Nothing, just laughing at your misery!" Sebastian replied. Abigail slapped him on his shoulder.

"You're horrible! Anyway, what do you think of the newcomer?" Abigail asked.

"Well, I don't know. I last saw her leaving by the bus station 11 years ago." Sebastian replied, puffing out smoke.

"I can't wait to see how much she changed since… since…" Abigail hesitated. Her smile faded away as she started to remember the incident. "…She lost her voice." She concluded with a sigh.

"Abby, are you okay?" Sebastian asked.

"It was my idea that we would go to the mines. It's my fault that she lost her voice." Abigail said, lowering her head. "I don't know what she would think of me when she sees me." She started to sob.

"Abby, I… I…" Sebastian tried to soothe her but he couldn't think of any words. "Jane wouldn't consider you as a bad person. Sam told me about how she considered you as her best friend!"

"I know, but…" Abigail shuddered her words, wiping her tears. "…I guess the past is the past." She concluded.

"Let's talk about something else, should we?" Sebastian said, walking with her.

"Well, yeah. It'll be a shame when she arrives because we both like the overgrown forest here." Abigail said. Sebastian nodded at her words. He indeed used to take walks around the remains of Agria Farm and played haunted house pranks on Sam at the cottage. With Jane's arrival, all of this would soon become a memory of the past. "I can't wait for her to come, though! I'm in love with Korea lately!" Abigail remarked.

"Well, I guess you should. I keep hearing K-Pop music whenever I go to your General Store." Sebastian said. "Say, that song with the high-pitched girls' vocals… what song is that?" He asked.

"Oh? You mean Cheer Up by TWICE?" Abigail replied. "Why? Are you interested in it? I can give borrow you my album discs!" She giggled.

"Nah, it's fine." Sebastian said. In reality, however, he found the song quite addicting. "So, how's your StarCraft ranking?" He asked. In fact, Abigail was the one who introduced the Trio to the strategy game. They have been playing it ever since.

"Me? Well, I just got promoted to Gold League!" Abigail chirped.

Two days have passed. Robin and Leah finished refurbishing the cottage, making it good as new. It was now Sebastian's turn to work. He had to set up the internet for this new farmer. With only few hours left until her arrival to Stardew Valley, Sebastian picked up the pace and calibrated the connections. At 27th of Winter noon, while he was finalizing his work, he heard coming towards the cottage.


	4. CHAPTER 3: Arrival (Jane)

**CHAPTER 3: ARRIVAL (JANE)**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived at the Arcadia International Airport of Ferngill Republic. Please remain seated until the plane has completely stopped. Thank you for choosing Starbound Airlines and we pray for the Global Aerial Alliance." The stewardess said through the speakers as the plane touched down on the runway. Jane's heart was racing by the thoughts of meeting who she loved the most when she was a child. She exited the plane, walked to the arrivals and picked up her luggage. After some immense paperwork correlated with immigration, she walked out of the arrivals and into the large open space. It wasn't as large as the one in Incheon, but it was still big nevertheless. Jane searched for any pieces of paper that had relevance to her arrival. No success. Giving a sigh, she walked around pulling her trolley until she sat down on a bench. Suddenly, two people walked to her as if they recognized her.

"Jane?" The woman asked. Jane, surprised looked up to find an old man in a greed shirt with suspended pants and a young woman with short blue hair wearing a red dress. They were Mayor Lewis McLengst and Emily Laveri, the local tailor. Jane simply gave a smile and bowed to show respect.

"I suppose you remember who I am, Jane! The woman next to me is Emily, the local tailor! Well, you look eager to see your farm!" Lewis remarked. Jane pulled out her phone and typed her response. _Yes, I do! Should we go now?_ "Yes, let us do that!" Lewis replied, walking away. Jane followed the two outside of the airport and eventually to an old truck. The clock on the truck said that it was 4:52 AM. She flew for six hours in total. Lewis started the truck and drove out of the airport.

The ride took eight hours from Arcadia, the capital of the country to Stardew Valley due to the heavy traffic. During the trip, Jane had crossed two provinces and three major cities including Arcadia, Prometheus and Zuzu. The road started become bumpy as the truck exited the Zuzu City toll booth and enter the countryside. The mountains became taller and taller and air pollution didn't seem to exist. "Jane? We're here!" Emily said, shaking the sleeping guest. Jane woke up slowly, seeing the sun shining on her face. The thin snow covered the ground and the snow and frost on the trees were melting. As Jane exited the truck and unloaded her things, she admired the scenery that couldn't be seen in Seoul. Perhaps her new life that her grandfather had gifted her could end her monotony of school life.

 _It's so beautiful! I already love this place!_ Jane typed on her phone and showed it to Lewis.

"I'm glad that you do. Now, let us take you to Agria Farm… If you still remember it." Lewis replied. Jane nodded and followed Lewis east while Emily walked westward toward Pelican Town. As Lewis and Jane walked into Agria Farm, they saw the cottage clean and trees and many forms of flora visible near it. However, the ground next to the cottage was completely clean. Jane gave a wide smile when she saw the forest that covered 80 percent of the land. "Well, looks like Robin cleared some of the land for you." Lewis said. Jane wanted to show how beautiful the place was badly, but her disabilities prevented her words from escaping destroyed throat. She instead gave a sigh of pleasure. "What's wrong? Are you… disappointed or anything?" Lewis asked. Jane shook her head in denial. She really enjoyed the scenery. "Well, I suppose." He said to himself. The mayor guided to the doorsteps of the cottage. "And here it is, your new home." He said. Just then the door opened on its own to reveal a young man twenty years old. He had relatively long hair with irregular spikes drooping down. He was wearing a black jacket with black jeans.

"Uh… hello, Mr. Lewis." The man greeted. "Is she the new farmer?" He asked.

"Indeed, Sebastian. Jane, this is Sebastian Callahan, our… uh… internet specialist. Sebastian, this is Jane Park, our new farmer." Lewis said. Jane bowed her head down as a greeting.

"Heh, you don't have to do that, miss Park." Sebastian said. In reality, he was actually shocked to see a teenage girl who was mangled with prosthetics she had trouble walking properly due to her left leg and her right arm being prosthetics. He hasn't been treated with respect for years."So… uh… it was nice to meet you, miss Park." He said, shaking Jane's hands. As Jane rummaged through her pocket for her phone, Sebastian stopped her. "I know about your disabilities. Abigail and Sam told me this." He said. Grinning, Jane placed her phone back into her pocket. "So, uh… Mr. Lewis, I've got the Wi-Fi up and running, so I'll go back to my house." Sebastian said to Lewis, walking away. Lewis, however, stopped him dead on his tracks.

"Sebastian, that is NOT how you treat newcomers. I will not let Pelican Town's reputation to slump just because of your actions! I expect you to show her the town, too!" Lewis raised his voice. Sebastian grudgingly complied and walked back into the cottage.

"Here, let me help you with that." Sebastian said, taking Jane's bags. Jane shook her head but he did it anyways. She took out her phone and typed _Thank you, Sebastian_ and showed it to the young man. "It's all in a day's work." He replied. "Say, would you like to look around town?" He asked. Jane nodded as she was escorted out of her farm. As the two were linked in a conversation between Sebastian's words and Jane's typing, something clicked inside Jane's mind. She started to squeal in delight as she hopped around the raven-haired man. "Whoa, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Sebastian frantically asked the suger-high girl.

 _You're that boy that I talked to you and you said that you don't talk to girls and I said that we can be friends and we introduced each other and I took you to Abigail and Sam and we became good friends for a while!_ Jane screamed in her minds, but her voice refused to exist. Thus, she showed a single hand signal showing that she was okay.

"…I'll ask you when we're sitting down." Sebastian said, shrugging. When the two walked into Pelican Town, Sebastian started introducing the dwindling houses one by one while telling who lives inside the corresponding ones. As Sebastian escorted Jane into the General Store, he was greeted by Pierre Berneau, the local shopkeeper and father.

"Why, isn't it the new farmer, Jane? It has been over a decade since we last saw each other!" Pierre greeted her. Jane immediately rummaged through her phone. _Pleasure meeting you too, Mr. Berneau!_ She typed and gave the man a hug. "So, are you enjoying your stay?" he asked.

"Mr. Berneau, she just came now. Give her a break." Sebastian grunted. Pierre simply glared at her as Jane limped around the store gazing at the fresh products that were in store. Just then, the door behind the countered opened, revealing a short purple haired woman wearing a black shirt with a purple coat.

"Dad, where is the milk…" She stopped her words when she eyed Jane. After a long pause, she gave out a squeal. "JANE!" She screamed as she ran towards the mute girl. Jane, too, squealed as she limped towards her but fell down due to her stiff prosthetic leg. She managed to get up just in time to hug her long lost purple-haired friend, Abigail Berneau. Tears rolled down Jane's eyes as she held Abigail tightly. "What happened to you?" Abigail asked, taking a look at her prosthetic arm.

"Past accidents, Abby. Don't give her nightmares." Sebastian replied instead, seeing that Jane would suffer if she had to continuously use her phone as a method of conversation. Abigail nodded in response. Suddenly, Sebastian heard a growl. He found the source: Jane's stomach. She had been starving two meals during her flight to the country. Seeing this, he opened his mouth. "Jane, I think my mom texted me about lunch. You wanna come with me?" He asked. Jane nodded in response. Any type of food would satisfy her craving stomach. "Great then. Abby, we'll see again in the Saloon, okay? Hitlewis told us to meet at 6 o'clock." Sebastian said to Abigail. Abigail gave a giggle at the way he pronounced Lewis's nickname. As Sebastian walked out of the Store with Jane, the mute girl took out her phone and typed a question. _Who's Hitlewis?_ "Oh, that's the nickname we gave to the mayor. He's a douche sometimes." Sebastian replied. Jade gave out a relatively loud but raspy laughter. Thinking that she might be thirsty, Sebastian escorted Jane to the mountains.

"…and this is my house." Sebastian said, showing Jane the Carpenter's Shop. Seeing that she was thoroughly exhausted due to the uphill trek, Sebastian quickly opened the door so that Jane could enter and find a place to sit. As soon as they entered the Shop, Jane was immediately greeted by Robin. The carpenter embraced the newcomer as if she was her daughter. "Mom, don't you think that she needs some rest? Get the hint!" Sebastian pointed out. Robin released Jane, glanced at her prosthetics and her exhaustion and quickly made her decision.

"Oh, Jane. Would you kindly sit down on one of those chairs and wait? I was about to make some lunch!" Robin said, pointing at the dining table. Jane gave a smile and nodded. She limped her way to the dining room and collapsed on one of the chairs. Robin called Sebastian to the counter of the Shop and started asking questions. "Sebby, how do you think of our new farmer?" She asked her son.

"Mom, why do you think that whenever a new girl enters the town, I have a crush on her? You were like that when that stupid Haley girl moved in!" Sebastian hissed.

"Sebby, I didn't teach you to give horrible names to people!" Robin raised her voice.

"Whatever. Anyways, can we PLEASE return this conversation to Jane?" Sebastian asked. Robin nodded in response. "Anyway, I haven't seen her for eleven years. I'm… to be honest, happy that I could see her again. She was my first friend, after all." He added.

"Oh, Sebby! I'm so glad that you actually want to make friends! Give me a hug!" Robin remarked, spreading her arms.

"Sure, when pigs fly, mom. Don't you think it's unmannered to let a guest hang out alone?" Sebastian refused. Robin gave a gasp and quickly ran to the dining room and kitchen.

"I'm sorry, dear! Lunch is on its way right now!" Robin said to Jane as she opened the refrigerator to get some ingredients.

 _Please take your time, ma'am!_ Jane signaled to nobody, but slapper her forehead after realizing her stupidity. Nobody in Stardew Valley knew sign language. Thirty minutes later, Robin called the entire family to the table as she placed bowls of various pastas on it. Maru and Demetrius exited from their rooms and sat down. Jane pointed at Maru and gave a smiling gasp as if she knew her. She immediately reached for her phone and typed what she wished to say to Maru. _You're baby Maru, right? You grew up so much!_ Maru, seeing this, gave a smirk and laughed.

"I guess I did! You've grown up so much too, Jane!" Maru exclaimed. Jane laughed along, too. Sebastian, however, glared at his half-sister as if he was jealous. _You're still a baby to me!_ Jane jokingly typed on her phone. "Oh, give me a break!" Maru replied. Jane howled in laughter, but stopped when she saw Sebastian's glare. He sat down and took his ration of pasta on his plate. Jane took the carbonara from one of the bowls and slowly ate it.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jane followed Sebastian around the rest of the Valley. He introduced her to the beach and the Cindersap forest. The melting snow that covered the ground as the two walked around mesmerized Jane as she loved such scenery. When it was 6 o'clock, Sebastian escorted her to the Stardrop Saloon. Everybody was gathering up inside. Just as Sebastian was about to open the door, Jane stopped him. "Is there anything wrong?" He asked. Jade nodded in response. Worry covered her face. "What's wrong?" He asked again. Jade pulled her phone out and started texting. _I'm 18 years old. Won't I get kicked out because I'm not in legal age?_ Seeing this, Sebastian fell into deep thought, and then opened his mouth. "Nah, don't worry. My half-sister, who is 15, comes here sometimes. It's gonna be fine." He said, opening the door of the Saloon. The interior was warm and smelled like bread. The fireplace right beside the counter was blazing with the fire that warmed the place. A middle-aged man wearing a Joja coat and a green shirt was chugging his mug of beer beside it. Gus, the Saloon owner, was cleaning glasses and walking in and out of the kitchen to check on his meals. Emily was helping him out, too. Leah was sitting with Elliott Cromsworth, the long-haired young man aspiring to be an author, sipping on wine while eating spaghetti. Lewis was drinking with Marnie Lannister, the owner of the Ranch in the Cindersap Forest. As soon as the people saw Jane enter with Sebastian, they immediately stopped what they were doing and walked to her with words of warm greetings. Jane accepted them with bows and smiles, but Sebastian continued to escort her into the leisure room. As Jane limped her way into the room, she saw her two long lost friends Abigail Berneau and Sam Arvidel inside. Abigail and Sam were playing Rocket League on the Xbox until the purple haired girl bolted from the sofa and dashed to Jane and hugged her tightly. Something clicked in Sam's mind too, as he left the game server, stood up and held out his hand for a high five. Jane accepted his hand while still embracing Abigail. Sebastian, seeing where this is going, smirked.

"Hey, what's wrong with a small reunion?" Sam asked.

"What? I didn't say anything." Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. "Just go along with your reunion." He said, walking to the pool table. Jane, seeing this, released Abigail and limped to the raven-haired boy. She tapped on his shoulders to see if he was okay. "I'm okay, Jane. I usually do this." He assured her. Jane nodded and turned around to see Abigail playing Halo 5 on the Xbox, only to be horrified by her kill to death ratio: 0.02. She limped to the couch and sat down next to the purple-haired girl who was practically punching the controller. Jade rummaged through her phone and typed something on it. She tried to show it to Abigail but her character was sniped from another island. Frustrated, she looked at the phone. _May I try?_ Jane was looking as if she had committed a sin, thinking that it was her fault that Abigail died and is frustrated. Sensing this, Abigail calmed herself down and assured her that everything was fine. She handed Jane the controller. Jane immediately went to the settings and turned off auto-aim and started playing on a new match. Despite her disabled prosthetic hand's slow fingers, Jane annihilated the enemy team and even spawn killed during the middle of the match. Abigail was amazed of how good this newcomer was at videogames. In the end of the match, Jane's kill to death ratio was 12.89. This score amazed Sam and Sebastian, as they were better than Abigail, but didn't expect this newcomer to be this good.

"How did you do that?" Abigail asked. Jane gave a shrug. Abigail hit her on the shoulder. "I already like you. Come home with me, please?" She jokingly asked.

"Abby, you can't just drag someone into your family just because of your jealousy!" Sam said.

"Shut up and go along with your pool match!" Abigail giggled as Jane howled in laughter. Just as the two boys were about to start their game, Mayor Lewis called everyone to the counter. Grunting, Sebastian dropped his cue stick and escorted Jane to where the mayor instructed everyone to be. When everyone gathered near Lewis, who was sitting on the counter, the mayor called Jane to the counter.

"Friends, this is Jane Park, our new farmer and our new neighbor!" Lewis said to the crowd. "Jane, we know that you will cope well with your new environment! Your grandfather would be proud if he was there. Now, everyone, let us give a toast for her future and commemorate her welcoming! For Agria Farm!" Lewis cheerfully exclaimed as he held his glass of pale ale high up in the air.

"FOR AGRIA FARM!" Everybody cheered as they too held their glasses in the air and drank from them.

"Would you like me to buy you a drink?" Leah approached and asked Jane. Jane typed in her phone in response. _No, thank you. I'm 18 years old and I don't wanna go behind bars._ Leah laughed at her response. "Well, don't sweat it, Jane! I'm Leah, the art student that lives in the forest! It's nice meeting you! See you around!" She said, walking away. Jane thought that she should go back to Abigail, but Lewis stopped her.

"Friends, I've forgot to mention one more thing. I believe that Jane needs a guide to aid her in her work and communication." The crowd nodded at Lewis's words. "Who wishes to be her guide?" he asked. Multiple hands were raised almost immediately. "Well, this isn't going to work out… Very well, let us be democratic and choose a candidate… Shane!" Lewis said, pointing at the middle-aged man next to the fireplace. Shane glared at Lewis as if he was refusing, but Lewis glared back, extinguishing the fire in Shane's eyes. Jane, too, seeing how Shane was rejecting the offer and looked as if he could kill a box full of puppies, nervously looked around to search for alternatives. Sebastian, seeing the situation, thought deeply of his decision. If he would become his guide, his schedule would have to be reconstituted, thus he will have to wake up five hours earlier (he wakes up at 10 o'clock in the morning). Not to mention the fact that he will have to aid Jane in cutting down trees and help her get up when she collapses due to her disabilities. If he doesn't however, he couldn't imagine the horrors of the carelessness of Shane. With determination filling his mind, Sebastian nodded.

"Mr. Lewis!" Sebastian exclaimed. The room's focus drew to him, draining confidence from his body. "I… I… I volunteer to be Jane's guide!" He declared. The crowd, especially Robin and Demetrius became noisy.

"Sebastian, this isn't a joke. You will have to sacrifice your free internet time to help her whenever she needs it. Are you sure you can endeavor this?" Lewis asked. Sebastian became furious when he said the thing about his internet time when in reality, it was his work. He pushed the negativity away.

"Yes, Mr. Lewis. I am ready. Jane, are you okay?" he declared. Jane nodded with a big smile.

"Very well, Sebastian. Friends, looks like we have found our farmer a guide! Case dismissed!" Lewis said, walking away from the counter. When the crowd returned to what they were doing, Jane ran to Sebastian and typed on her phone. _Thank you so much!_

"No sweat, Jane. I didn't want you to be with someone who doesn't want to be your guide." Sebastian replied. Suddenly, Jane hugged him. Something inside her heated up and a surge flowed through her body. She released Sebastian to find his face ruddy, making her giggle. Her eyes became droopy as she started to feel tired. She walked into the leisure room and typed her goodbyes and walked out of the Saloon. "Jane?" A voice said, making her stop. It was Sebastian. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Be careful, okay?" He said. Jane gave a smile and nodded. She walked back to her cottage and slept in for her first day in Stardew Valley.


	5. CHAPTER 4: New Beginning (Sebastian)

**CHAPTER 4: NEW BEGINNING (SEBASTIAN)**

The Saloon was once again bustling with conversations as soon as Jane left the building. Everyone was now talking about this new person. They were mostly talking about her disabilities and some were filled with worries of how she will cope with manual labor. Sebastian was greeted by his friends back in the leisure room. "Hey, that was bold for a couch potato like you!" Sam remarked.

"Go away, Sam. What makes you think that I'm a couch potato?" Sebastian replied with a grunt. In fact, he was the only one among the Teenager Trio with a proper job.

"You never leave your room unless you come to the saloon, our jamming session or taking a smoke!" Sam said, taking his shot in the pool table.

"Shut up, Sam. At least I have a job unlike you." Sebastian replied. Sam and Abigail smirked as they continued what they were doing. As Sebastian was annihilating his blonde friend in the current pool game, Abigail continuously stared at the results screen of the previous game. She couldn't believe how her mute friend could achieve a KDR of 12.98.

"Anyway, I guess your new job could mean…" Sam said, but Sebastian pointed his cue stick at his neck.

"Don't even think about it." Sebastian threatened.

"…Twice the required legal breaks?" Sam concluded. Sebastian gave a smirk and lowered his stick. He took his aim and pocketed two balls in.

"For Pete's sake, Sam." Sebastian chuckled. He covered his face to hide his laughter.

"OR! It could mean that he will finally get out of his shell of being single!" Abigail giggled as she said our loud. Sebastian gave a loud and long grunt.

"To hell with you, Abigail. You're a hypocrite." Sebastian grunted. Sam took the opportunity to hit his cue ball only to pocket the eight-ball. He had lost the game.

"GOD DAMNIT!" Sam exclaimed.

"Your fault, bro." Sebastian said. He checked the clock to find that it was 10 o'clock. His bedtime was approaching. When he saw that everybody else was leaving the establishment, Sebastian followed them out. Just as he reached the door, he heard a voice.

"Hey, kid. Seb?" The voice called. It was Shane's.

"Uh, hello, Mr. Lannister." Sebastian replied, turning around. He saw drowsiness in the middle-aged man's face.

"Ugh, how do I say this…?" Shane hesitated. "...Ah, right. First, I want to say, uh… thank you." He said.

"Why?" Sebastian asked.

"…I honestly didn't want to be that new girl's guide. You know, I didn't want to be treated like a pedophile or ruin my already destroyed reputation. I gotta thank you for that, right?" Shane said. Sebastian shrugged.

"Then what's the second thing?" Sebastian asked.

"… It's that you kinda humiliated me in some way. Listen, kiddo. What happened before might get the town to think that I'm some kind of veto-man. In the end, I don't know if I should kill you or kiss you." Shane replied.

"Huh, I guess. Anyway, Mr. Lannister…"

"I hate formality. Just call me Shane." Shane interrupted.

"…Shane. Good night." Sebastian concluded. Shane nodded as he walked past the raven-haired boy and out west to Cindersap Forest. Sebastian looked around to see that he was the last person inside other than Pam Anderson, the retired bus driver. Shrugging, Sebastian pulled out a cigarette, lit it and took a drag from it as he walked back to the mountain. As he made his way to the Carpenter's Shop, he was greeted by Robin. She immediately hugged her son as soon as she confirmed his identity.

"I'm so proud of you, Sebby!" Robin said. Sebastian shrugged as he dropped his cigarette and smothered it with it foot.

"I thought that it would be nice to redeem my first friend." Sebastian said, shrugging.

"I never expected that you would be such a nice person!" Robin remarked.

"Whatever, mom. I need to sleep early for tomorrow. Remind the mayor to not insult my job." Sebastian grunted as he entered his room down in the basement. He saved his work in his computer and shut it down. Lying on the bed, Sebastian thought of the possibilities that may happen the next day as he slowly drifted to sleep.

"Mmmm… what time is it… NO NO NO NO NO! I'M LATE!" Sebastian screamed as he checked his alarm clock as soon as he woke up. It was seven o'clock. He had promised the townspeople that he would wake up at six, thus he might have disappointed some of them. He quickly brushed his teeth, washed his face and ran up stairs. He searched for the frozen burrito that he bought from the local Jojamart, placed it in his microwave and set the timer to thrity seconds. He turned around to see his entire family sitting down around the dining table staring at him in confusion as they were eating breakfast.

"Uh… Sebastian?" Demetrius asked.

"…Are you okay? Breakfast's here." Maru added. Just as the microwave beeped, he continued his rush and pulled out his burrito. He ran out the house and dashed east to the pathway down to Agria Farm while taking bites off of his food. The snow had already melted away and the greenery returned to the Valley. The snow that mesmerized everyone was now gone. The birds were chirping as Sebastian reached the farm. When he reached the cottage, he knocked on the door as he quickly munched away on his burrito. The door opened just as Sebastian choked on his food. Jane, seeing this, checked if he was okay.

"I'm okay, Jane!" Sebastian replied.

 _Are you sure?_ Jane typed on her phone.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Are you ready for this? Should we go to the General Store to buy you some seeds?" Sebastian asked. Jane giggled as she held up fifteen packets of parsnip seeds. "Well, I guess we got that out of the way." He concluded. "Let's get to work. Do you know how to till the soil?"

 _No. Sorry._ Jane typed.

"You don't have to be sorry! To be honest, I don't know how to myself!" Sebastian chuckled, but straightened himself as he suddenly realized what he had said. "Uh… sorry, Jane." He said, worried.

 _It's okay! We can learn step by step together!_ Jane typed. Sebastian gave a sigh of relief. _Should we get started?_ Jane asked.

"Sure! Let's get to business." Sebastian replied as he escorted his friend down the steps. Jane was holding her hoe in her prosthetic hand and the seed packets on her other fleshy hand. She limped to Sebastian as he was checking the ground. "Hmm, I don't know, but I think we should go with a small rectangle or something. Say, may I open one of the packets?" He asked as he finished the rest of his burrito. Jane smiled as she handed him one of her parsnip seed packets. Sebastian opened it to reveal five seeds inside. "I see." Sebastian said to himself. "Well, let's get started." He said.

 _What about the things scattered around?_ Jane typed as she pointed at the soil with scattered logs and grass growing. _Should we clean that up, first?_

"…Yeah, I think we should." Sebastian agreed as he entered the cottage to take an axe and scythe. "I'll clean it up for you." He said as he readied his scythe. However, Jane stopped him.

 _I'll take care of the grass._ She typed as she took the scythe from him. Although she tripped on the ground multiple times, Sebastian's help gave Jane the strength to clear out a significant part of the soil. With this out of the way, Sebastian started tilling the soil using the hoe. Jane, seeing this, thought that this was her farm and she should be the one working. She took the hoe from her guide and tried it on her own. Unfortunately, her unreliable prosthetic arm faltered, causing her to hit her prosthetic leg with the hoe. Although pain doesn't exist there, the deafening clank from the collision made her and Sebastian's ears ring. Sebastian tried to take the hoe from her but she refused and continued on. In the end, she finished off the rest of the soil. The tilled soil was three meters in length and five meters in width. Sebastian distributed the seed packets with Jane. He sowed half of the land while Jane did hers.

"I'll get the watering can." Sebastian said as he entered the cottage and exited with the said tool. He gave it to Jane to try it for herself. It wasn't much of a problem for the farmer as all she needed to do was pour some water on the tilled soil. She limped around the area until she could confirm that every seed was moist. "Hey, you're not bad at this!" Sebastian complimented. Jane simply gave a thumbs up as her hands were too dirty for her phone. "Right, I'll get you a towel." He said as he rummaged through his pockets for his handkerchief. Jane looked at him with worry. "Don't worry, I'll clean it up later." Sebastian assured. Jane nodded as she proceeded to wipe her hands clean of the mud. She folded the handkerchief carefully and handed it back to Sebastian. Nodding, he placed it back into his pocket and waited as Jane typed something in her phone.

 _What should we do now?_

"Well, uh… I don't know, honestly." Sebastian said, thinking deeply. He had never felt this awkward compared to when he opened his heart to Sam and Abigail for the first time. "So, uh… what happened during those eleven years?" He asked.

 _Is it okay if I write it here?_ Jane asked.

"Absolutely." Sebastian replied. Jane nodded as she typed away on her phone. After five minutes worth of typing, she gave her phone to the raven-haired boy. Sebastian took the phone and read the essay-like history.

 _Nothing much happened when I returned to Korea. My parents were so worried when I exited the airport with a huge bandage wrapped around my neck. I remember them crying when they couldn't hear my voice anymore. Life has been difficult ever since. I couldn't make proper friends, nobody understood sign language, and so on. Bullies in middle school touched me in uncomfortable places knowing that I couldn't speak, it's too painful to tell you this. I lost my limbs due to an accident five years ago._

As soon as Sebastian finished reading, he saw Jane sobbing. He instantly started to regret his decision about asking her past. He never expected it to be this dark. He had to find a way to stop Jane from thinking about this further. "Hey, I'm sorry about that." He tried to sooth her. Jane simply nodded as tears fell from her eyes. "Uh… should we go see Abigail?" He asked. Suddenly, Jane's face brightened as she nodded vigorously. "Great, then! Let's go!" Sebastian said as he walked to the eastern exit of the farm. Jane limped her way to her guide as he escorted her to the General Store.

"Why hello! Isn't it our new farmer Jane? Oh, hello Sebastian." Pierre greeted the two people as they walked into the General Store. Jane gave a big smile as she bowed down. "No need for formality, Jane! We're all one big community!" He said.

"Pierre, that's how Koreans show respect to elders. You can't just make them change their traditions." Sebastian said. "Say, we're here to see Abigail." He added.

"My daughter, eh?" Pierre asked. Jane and Sebastian nodded. "Abigail!" He called out.

"What?!" Abigail shouted back, sounding as if she was annoyed. "I was taking a shower!" She added.

"Your friends are here!" Pierre replied.

"What? Is Jane here, too?" Abigail asked.

"Yes, now hurry up!" Pierre replied. He turned back to Jane and gave a smile. "Don't worry, Jane. My daughter is usually like that." Jane simple gave a raspy laugh. Just then, a man who looked like he was on his thirties with a mustache wearing a green coat approached her.

"Greetings, Jane! If I said your name correctly…" The man greeted her. Jane faced him and gave a bow. "I am Harvey Van Veen, the local doctor. I'm sure you remember me, do you?" He asked. Jane gave a smile and nodded. Harvey was the one who performed the operation that changed Jane's life. "Well, it's good to see you… fine." Harvey continued, glancing at Jane's prosthetics. "If you are free tomorrow, come by to the clinic. It's right next to this store, so don't worry. See you soon!" Harvey concluded as he walked out of the Store. Just then, the door behind Pierre's counter opened to reveal Abigail wearing a long purple shirt with elastic pants. Her purple hair was soaked due to her shower.

"JANE! COME HERE… oh wait." Abigail screamed but stopped when she remembered her friend's disabilities. Jane gave a scream as she limped towards her purple-haired friend. "Hi, Seb!" Abigail greeted the raven-haired boy as she embraced Jane tightly.

"We're here to hang out, I guess." Sebastian said, trying to avoid eye contact with Abigail. Seeing this, Jane typed on her phone.

 _Are you two in something serious?_

"What? No! Why would we?" Abigail replied, blushing. Sebastian glared at Jade with confusion mixed together. "Anyways, you want to come in and be the most Korean we could ever be?" She asked. Jane gave a hearty laugh and nodded. Sebastian followed the two girls into the purple haired girl's room where Korean pop songs boomed through the door.

"I'm home." Sebastian called out as he entered the Carpenter's Shop. It was 9 o'clock and he was exhausted from all the manual labor he helped Jane perform. Robin ran from the kitchen and embraced his son.

"Oh, Sebby! I'm so glad that I'm out of words!" Robin exclaimed.

"Whoa, mom. Hold your horses and tell me why." Sebastian replied.

"Well, you're finally serving the community with something worth considering good! I thought you would be just a couch potato down in the basement!" Robin said. Sebastian frowned at the words 'couch potato'. "Did you eat dinner?" She asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I ate it in the Berneau house with Jane." Sebastian assured. "Now may I please go back to my room and sleep for the day? I'm tired like hell." Robin gave a big smile and nodded. Sebastian walked into his room and fell on his bed. He lit a cigarette and thought about what happened today as he took a drag. He had basically changed his way of life thanks to Jane. He never expected to be so close to someone who he hadn't met for a decade. He thought about how starting conversations with her is currently difficult and exhausting as Jane's fingers would definitely get tired and his patience would one day run out. He needed to think of a new idea, and the only one in his mind was that he would learn sign language himself. 'But how?' Sebastian thought as he drifted into sleep.


	6. CHAPTER 5: Introductories (Jane)

_HANEUL!" Jane's parents cried as she walked out from the arrivals gate of the airport. The seven year old girl had a large bandage on her neck and an IV connected to it from a portable medicine bag. Her parents ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Tears rolled down from Jane's eyes as her parents sobbed. "Oh my goodness, what happened?" Jane's father asked, wiping tears off of his face. The thousands of words that Jane wanted to speak couldn't manage to escape her throat; her injury has prevented her words to leave. Instead, her mouth moved uselessly with continuous raspy noises escaping from it. Her mother broke down. She had never expected her daughter to return from where she loved the most with an irreversible trauma._

 _"_ _Haneul, I don't know what to say about this. I will ask grandpa what happened." Her mother said, opening her phone. Jane wanted to stop her, but she was too short to reach for the phone. More tears rolled down from her cheeks as she listened what her mother was saying through her phone. After a few minutes of speaking, Jane's mother closed her phone. "Haneul, we have made the decision. You are NOT going back to Stardew Valley. Not. EVER. I don't want this to happen again. Understand?" Mother said. Jane couldn't help but burst in tears and give out a scream of disbelief. Suddenly, she heard a wooden knock from somewhere._

"Jane? Jane?" A voice behind her cottage door called. It was Sebastian. Hearing this, Jane bolted up from her bed with sweat flooding her place of residence. Still in her pajamas of a loose tank top and short trainers, Jane limped and opened the door to find Sebastian leaning next to a window ledge. "Jane, what happened?" Sebastian asked, looking at her tear-soaked eyes. "Did something happen?" he added. Jane shook her head, trying to assure him that everything was fine. Sebastian glared at her as if he knew something was wrong, but shrugged it off.

'Well, I have no right to ask about privacy.' Sebastian thought as he turned back to see the view. The last of the snow has melted away. He turned back to the cottage when Jane tapped on his shoulder and showed him her phone.

 _Can you wait until I change?_

"Sure, why not? Do you mind if I smoke?" Sebastian replied with a question. Jane nodded as she gently closed the door behind her. Nodding, Sebastian walked down the porch and took out his electric cigarette. He turned it on, bit on the mouthpiece and took a deep drag. The sweet fumes of flavored tobacco helped him fall into deep thought. He had accepted this new job as Jane's physical guide. He thought about the consequences although it was too late. His plans of escaping Stardew Valley would be terminated permanently despite the money he would earn from this service. 'Damnit, I'm being too negative!' He scolded himself as he saw Jane limping out from the door wearing her work clothes consisting of a green and yellow striped shirt and blue overall jeans. She was also carrying her tools. Sebastian tried his best to hide his blush. He never expected to see his friend so adorable. He ran to her when she nearly tripped by the stairs.

 _I'm ready!_ Jane typed.

"Great then!" Sebastian replied as he escorted Jane to her crops.

With her last parsnip sapling watered, Jane gave a sigh of pride. However, something hindered her satisfaction. She wanted to endeavor with something new. _Sebastian?_ Jane types.

"Huh? Yeah?" Sebastian replied, hiding his electric cigarette behind his back.

 _I want to try planting new crops._ Jane typed.

"New crops?" Sebastian asked himself. "Hmm… I guess we could give it a try!" He remarked. Jane gave a big smile as she tried to limp to Pelican Town. "Whoa, there. You should be careful." Sebastian said, holding her shoulders. Jane nodded as the two walked together to Pelican Town. "So, are you enjoying your new farm?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded without hesitation. "That's good to know. Do you have more stuff that's supposed to arrive from Korea?" Jane nodded. "I see. A lot has changed since you were gone. Everything seemed to go downhill after your grandfather left the country due to her health. The community center started to become less used, Jojamart placed its roots here without any of our notice and Sam now has a brother named Vincent." Sebastian said. Jane nodded at his words as the two entered Pelican Town. Jane's mind was full of anger. The Joja Corporation, originating from the Gotoro Empire, started to roach through every country in the planet. Its roots destroyed the reputation and revenue of the local companies. The companies of Korea fell victim, too. Rumors say that the Company keeps it place despite its clearly visible illegal activities through bribery. As the two walked past the Willow Lane houses, they met a blonde haired girl wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with a pink short skirt. "Uh… Jane, that's Haley Laveri. I don't know much about her, to be honest." Sebastian introduced the girl.

"Oh, you're the new farm girl, right?" Haley said to Jane, looking up and right like an inspector. Jane nodded by response and approached her to shake her hand. Haley backed off from her and smirked. "Hmm, if it weren't for those stupid clothes, you'd actually be pretty." She scoffed. Jane, shocked, looked away. "Besides, what's with that chopstick leg? You're trying too hard to be skinny." She added.

"Haley, god damnit! She had accidents that she doesn't want to remember!" Sebastian hissed.

"Did I hear something? Sound like an emo is trying to correct the queen!" Haley gloated. "Well, nevermind. Emo boy, have fun with this patient." She added as she walked towards Cindersap Forest. Seeing that Haley was out of sight, Sebastian rushed towards Jane to find her eyes soaked with tears. Rage filled his mind. How could she make fun of a girl who couldn't speak and have traumatic injuries? He tried his best to throw his emotions away as he soothed the now sobbing Jane.

"Jane, please." Sebastian said with worry. Jane simply nodded as she silently wept with occasional sniffs. Sebastian knew that she was definitely not okay. "She's usually like that. I'm so sorry that you had to meet her." He added. Jane pulled her phone out and shakily typed on it.

 _Seb, I'm okay. I've met people far worse. It's just that it reminded me of them._

'Oh dear.' Sebastian thought as his heart raced. "May I hug you?" He asked. Jane nodded in response as she carefully approached to his open arms. "It's going to be alright. Now, let's go get your seeds." Sebastian said as he released her. Jane wiped her tears as she walked with her guide towards the General Store. Jane was immediately greeted by Pierre, Abigail, Leah and Gus with warm words and smiles, but they dissipated immediately when they noticed her wet eyes and red face.

"Sebastian, what happened to her?" Leah asked.

"It's Haley again." Sebastian grunted as he released Jane.

"Ugh, Her?" Abigail asked with a sigh. Sebastian nodded in response. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"Emily said that she's usually not like this. I think this has gone too far. I'll talk to Emily about this." Gus added as he placed his purchase in his shopping bag. "Anyway, it's nice to see you blend in with the community, Jane. You're always welcome in my Saloon! I'll keep in touch in your birthday!" He added as he walked out of the Store. Jane bowed to him and limped to the seeds collection. Sebastian rushed to the counter to retrieve a shopping basket. When he arrived, Jane dropped packets of potato seeds and cauliflower in it.

 _That's it. Let's go to the counter!_ Jane typed. Sebastian nodded as he followed her to the said place.

"That would be 300 Galleons." Pierre said, peeking at the cash register. Sebastian rummaged through his wallet only to be stopped by Jane. She pulled out her own wallet and placed the money on the counter. "Well, have a nice day, Jane! I hope you cheer up." He added as he saw the two walk out of the Store. As they walked back to the cottage, Jane remembered that she promised doctor Harvey that she would meet him today. She immediately searched for her medical documents as soon as she entered her cottage.

 _Seb, thanks for today. I need to go the clinic but I want to try alone._ Jane typed on her phone.

"Oh, no. I should be with you at all times." Sebastian replied. Jane shook her head as she limped out of the porch only to trip and fall on the dirt. Sebatian ran down and helped her up. "Are you sure?" He asked. Jane thought for a while and shook her head. She needed him. "Very well. Let's go." He said as he escorted Jane back to Pelican Town and into Harvey's clinic.

The clinic was covered in sky blue tiles with clean walls and ceilings. Not a single spec of contamination was seen. Jane saw someone familiar behind the counter, a dark-haired girl with glasses, but wearing a nurse's outfit. "Hey, Maru." Sebastian grunted as he collapsed on one of the waiting chairs. Maru gave a empty grin to her half-brother and waved at Jane.

 _Hi, Baby Maru!_ Jane typed, giggling.

"Oh, please Jane." Maru replied, laughing. "Anyway, Doctor Harvey's busy with a patient so would you kindly wait…" She was interrupted by an opening door beside her. A young girl with dark purple hair wearing a purple dress exited from it. This was Jas Veronich, the goddaughter of Shane Lannister. She was accompanied by Marnie Lannister, the owner of the Cindersap Animal Ranch. "…nevermind then. Looks like the doctor is waiting for you after all." Maru added. Jane bowed to Marnie before she entered the same door. She was greeted by Doctor Harvey Van Veen.

"Hello, Jane." Harvey greeted her. Jane rummaged through her pocket for her phone but was stopped by the doctor. Suddenly, she was greeted by the most welcoming thing in her life: Sign language.

 _I learned it just for you._ Harvey signaled.

 _That's great! Anyway, here are my medical files._ Jane signaled as she gave him a pile of papers. Harvey inspected the paper while touching his moustache.

"It has been a long time since we last met, haven't we?" Harvey asked. Jane nodded in response. "Hmm, that's strange. Jane, why does your files say that your name is Haneul Park? Do you have two names?" He asked, looking at her.

 _Haneul is my birth name. Jane is my legal alias._ Jane signaled.

"I see. That will clear things out." Harvey replied as he went through her medical files. "Take a seat on the bed." He added, pointing at the said furniture. Jane nodded as she took a seat on the bed. "Hmm… I see. This is your daily dosage of painkillers for your throat and… prosthetics?" Harvey said with confusion. He lowered the files and took a glance at the young farmer. He could clearly see that Jane's right arm and left leg were deformed. "…May I see them?" He asked. Jane nodded as she rolled up her sleeves of her pants her shirt. Her prosthetic arm was metallic red in color and the hydraulics and the neural wiring were exposed. Her leg, however, was just a thin rod with no joints. Her 'foot' was simply a wedge of aluminum shaped like a foot. "Oh dear. When did you receive them?" Harvey asked.

 _I've lost my leg due to an accident. I don't want to mention how I lost my arm, but I guess I should._ Jane signaled with shaky hands. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Harvey stopped her knowing that knowing this information would be traumatic.

"No, it's okay, Jane. I can get the hint. Now, let's begin with your diagnosis." Harvey said, beginning a plethora of questions.

"…I guess that does it for your diagnosis. Hmm… let me check one more time. You need your painkillers once every day at 8PM?" Harvey asked. Jane nodded in response. "I see. Okay, then." He concluded as he gave back Jane's medical files back. "That's it for your diagnosis. Thank you for coming. See you soon, Jane." Jane gave a smile as she bowed down and left the clinic. Sebastian bolted up from his waiting chair as soon as he saw his friend exit from the medical rooms.

"How did it go?" Sebastian asked.

 _It's like those hospital questions._ Jane typed on her phone.

"I see. Hey, you look tired. Should we plant these seeds tomorrow?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded as she also sensed drowsiness engulfing her body.


	7. CHAPTER 6: Invitations (Sebastian)

**CHAPTER 6: INVITATIONS (SEBASTIAN)**

A few days has passed since Jane's arrival. Her first crops of parsnips were ready to harvest at fifth of Spring. Sebastian has never seen someone so happy about rooting out plants from the ground. He smiled as he helped Jane root out seventy five parsnips from the ground. He had noticed that Jane couldn't kneel; she only had one knee. For some reason, the raven-haired boy found his companion so adorable whenever she squealed and hopped in glee. It kind of made him sad whenever she tripped and fell, but he laughed as she laughed at her own clumsiness. For the first time in forever, Sebastian seemed to find something worth endeavoring for since he was confined in his basement.

 _"MOMMY!" Sebastian cried as he burst into the Carpenter's Shop. Robin stopped what she was doing and rushed to her son._

 _"What's wrong, Sebby?" Robin asked as she picked her son up and wiped his tears._

 _"T…Th… they attacked her…" Sebastian stuttered._

 _"What? What are you talking about?"_

 _"The… daddy…"_

 _"Daddy?" Robin asked herself as Sebastian buried his head on her chest. Suddenly, something clicked in Robin's mind. He was talking about her first husband. "Oh my god… Sebby, who got hurt?" Robin asked._

 _"Th… That girl…" Sebastian replied._

 _"Jane?!" Robin asked in disbelief. Sebastian nodded. A long pause followed until Demetrius stumbled upon them with baby Maru on his arms._

 _"Robin, what happened?" Demetrius asked._

 _"It's Jane. I think she got hurt." Robin replied, patting her son's head._

 _"Oh dear. Well, I hope she's okay now." Demetrius said._

 _"It's not okay! I.. I… saw blood! They attacked her!" Sebastian screamed at his step-father._

 _"Sebby, don't talk to your daddy like that!" Robin raised her voice._

 _"He's not my daddy!" Sebastian continued._

 _"Dem, we have to go to the clinic! I think Peter would be there with her granddaughter." Robin said to her husband, ignoring her son. Demetrius nodded as he followed his wife out of the shop._

Sebastian woke up from his slumber. He had dreamt about what happened eleven years ago. He shook his head rapidly to focus his mind. He thought of taking a cigarette to smoke but threw the packet back to his desk. 'No, not now.' He thought as he woke up from his slumber. He immediately brushed his teeth and took a clean shower to wipe off any evidence of his last night smoking session. As he walked to his sink mirror, he gave a cough. In shock, Sebastian noticed blood stained on the mirror. He wiped the fogged mirror to find that his entire mouth was dripping with blood. 'Oh god, what's happening?!' he asked himself. The side effects of his smoking had kicked in. He gave another cough to release more blood droplets. He quickly wiped any source of hemoglobin from his body and bathroom and quickly changed to his normal clothes. He walked upstairs to microwave some pasta that his mother cooked for him. After his hasty breakfast, he rushed out of the carpenter's shop and down to Agria Farm. "Jane?" Sebastian called out on the young farmer's door. There was no response. Risking being called a pervert, Sebastian peeked over the window to find nobody inside. He turned around to the crops. He saw the parsnip, potato and cauliflower crops growing. Strangely, he found the soil moist. Jane seemed to have already watered them. Shrugging, Sebastian walked around the entire farmland in search of the mute girl. No sign of her. Cursing himself, Sebastian exited Agria Farm and headed towards Pelican Town.

Sebastian coughed up blood droplets a few times as he continued his search for his friend. He entered 1 Willow Lane, Sam's house to question her whereabouts. "Oh hello, Sebastian! What bring you here?" Jodi Arvidel, the mother of Sam, greeted the raven haired boy.

"Well, uh… Have you seen Jane?" Sebastian asked.

"Jane, oh… I think I saw her heading for the Mayor's Manor. Aren't you supposed to be with her?"

"That's what I was about to do! Thank you, Mrs. Arvidel!" Sebastian thanked as he ran out of the house.

"What is up with that boy, anyway?" Jodi asked herself as she walked back to the kitchen. Sebastian stopped on his tracks on Mayor Lewis's manor. Although it wasn't as large as the manors of the mayor in Zuzu or Gracefield, it was still the largest building in Pelican Town. Clearing his throat, Sebastian knocked the door and awaited whoever to open the door. Just as he expected, Lewis peeked out as he opened the door.

"Sebastian? I suppose you're here for Jane?" Lewis asked.

"Well, yes Mayor. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my time on helping Jane…" Lewis stopped Sebastian's words.

"Sebastian, it's only seven and a half. I have called Jane to take her things that her family had brought from Korea." Lewis assured. Just then, Sebastian's phone started to ring. "That should be your mother. Pick it up." Sebastian nodded as he fumbled through his pocket for his phone. It was indeed Robin who was calling him.

"Sebby, where are you?" Robin asked through the phone.

"Mom, I found Jane at the manor. I think everything's cleared for now." Sebastian replied.

"Okay, Sebby! Have fun!" Robin chirped as she ended the call. Rolling his eyes, Sebastian entered the manor. He saw Jane reading some paperwork with a pile of boxes behind her. Jane peeked at the raven haired boy and gave a wave along with a big smile.

"Hey, Jane." Sebastian replied with a grin.

"Jane, have you read the papers? Are these your boxes?" Lewis asked, patting Sebastian's shoulder. Jane nodded in response.

 _All six boxes are here!_ Jane said through her phone.

"Fantastic, then! I'll call Sam to help. Sebastian, I hope you are in this too." Lewis said with seriousness in his eyes. Sebastian nodded as he walked over to the boxes. There were six in total. The sizes and shapes of the boxes were in numerous types. There were two boxes as small as a trash bin while three were as large as a 24 inch CRT TV. One box was unusually thin and was about the size of a 40 inch TV.

'Huh, interesting.' Sebastian thought as he touched the thin box. He sat down next to Jane as she seemed to wish to talk. "So, you managed to water the crops on your own, huh?" He asked. Jane nodded. "That's good. Well, how many times did you trip?" Jane blushed in embarrassment as she held out four fingers. Sebastian chuckled as she slapped his shoulder with her prosthetic arm. It stung as if he was hit with a metal plate. Rubbing his shoulder, he simply laughed it off. "I'm surprised, to be honest. I was worried if you had any difficulties. Say, did you harvest anything today?" Jane shook her head. "Well, that makes sense." He said to himself. "Say, those boxes are straight from, Korea, correct?" Jane nodded. "I see. Well, they already look heavy…" Just as he finished speaking, the door opened once again to reveal Sam.

"Yo, what's up Seb?" Sam said, holding out his hand for a high five. Sebastian refused by waving his hand away from him. "Aw, don't let a bro hang around!" Sam said, approaching his face. "Looks like SOMEONE'S about to be kissed on the cheek!" Sam jokingly threatened. Disgusted, Sebastian begrudgingly gave Sam a high five. Jane laughed at the situation. "Anyway! Mayor, I have brought the wheelbarrows! Should we start moving these things?" Sam asked Lewis. Lewis, however, was glaring at the skateboard that was in between Sam's right arm.

"Sam, why did you bring that stupid skateboard with you?" Lewis asked with a threatening voice. His voice even gave Jane a shiver.

"Whoa, chillax, Mayor! I've brought it to move big boxes around easily!" Sam said with sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Very well. You're excused. Sebastian, Jane, let's get to work." Lewis concluded as he walked to the boxes. Sebastian and Sam took care of moving the biggest three boxes to the two wheelbarrows outside. Jane tried to help by picking up the small boxes but Sebastian did the real job as she immediately fell to the ground. Sam placed the last big box on the skateboard.

"Well, that was easy!" Sam said proudly, wiping the sweat from his brow. Sebastian glared at him with a tilted head.

"You sure about that?" Sebastian asked. Sam nodded in response. "Well, then can you explain that?" Sebastian asked again pointing at the thin box next to the table.

"God damnit, Seb! You ruin everything that makes the world be a happy place!" Sam pouted as he walked to the box with Sebastian.

"Damn, this is heavy!" Sebastian grunted as he hoisted the box with his blonde friend. "How the hell are we going to transport this?!"

"To hell if I know!" Sam replied. "Blame Jane for that!" Jane twitched when she heard what Sam had said. She gave a sigh and lowered her head as if she committed one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

"SAM!" Lewis bellowed. "Don't you EVER say that to our farmer, understand?!"

"Y… Yes, sir!" Sam replied.

"Good. Now get a move on with the packages!" Lewis said as Sam and Sebastian slowly and carefully climbed down the stairs. Jane limped towards them to help the two load the box between the two wheelbarrows.

"Jane, you can go home now and wait for us. We can take care of this on our own." Sebastian assure as he grabbed the handles of the left wheelbarrow.

 _No, it's okay. I'll follow you around._ Jane typed.

"Yeah? Alright, then. Be careful." Sebastian said as he pushed the wheelbarrow in sync with Sam. Jane limped along the journey, occasionally pushing the box on the skateboard.

Jane fumbled for her door key and opened her cottage. She took a look inside to see if she had enough space for all the things to fit. Sebastian too peeked inside to see only a bed, a brick fireplace, a 12 inch CRT TV and the Wi-Fi router that he had installed near the bed. Turning around, Jane typed on her phone so that Sebastian could see. _We might need to take the TV out._

"Why?" Sebastian asked.

 _You'll see._ Jane replied with a disarming smile. Sebastian blushed as he nodded.

"Alright, Sam. Get that box and let's put it in first." He said to Sam as he picked up the box on his side. Sam nodded as he picked it up by the other side. The two carefully placed the box on the wooden floor, but Sam had his pinky crushed by the weight.

"Aargh, god damnit!" Sam exclaimed squeezing the pinky. "Why couldn't we drop it like it was hot or like it was the bass?" He asked Sebastian.

"You want this to break? I don't even know what's inside." Sebastian said, slapping his own face. "Enough whining, Sam. We have five more boxes to handle." He added as he walked outside to retrieve more of Jane's packages.

 _Thank you so much!_ Jane typed as she hugged Sebastian after checking that Sam was nowhere in sight. The surge returned to the two.

"Whoa, there. You're welcome. Do you need help unboxing these?" Sebastian asked, kneeling down to one of the small boxes. Jane proceeded to pry open the tape with only failure. Sebastian chuckled as he took out a box cutter and cut the tape without difficulty. Jane unfolded the cover to see what was inside the first small box. Inside were a number of family photos and a pile of letters that Jane's only friends gave her after graduation. A drop of tear slid down her face as she took her time to read every single one of them. Sebastian, not knowing what to do, simply continued kneeling down next to her taking a small look at the letters written on a language he doesn't know. Jane rummaged through the box to find more miscellaneous objects such as her basic makeup set and some packaged dried food. After opening the second and third box, Sebastian helped cut the tape of the fourth and largest box. Jane rummaged through it to find a strange black box. She gave a big smile as she opened the cover to reveal an action figure of Soldier 76 from Overwatch. "You… you have an action figure?!" Sebastian asked, dropping his jaw. Jane nodded in response. "May I see it?" He asked as he picked up the action figure. The details of the uniform, assault rifle and hair were flawless. Its metallic properties made Sebastian have a hard time holding it up for a long time. Sebastian looked back at Jane to find her reading a small but familiar book. She closed it when she saw Sebastian peeking at the cover. He once again dropped his jaw when he found out that the book was one of the episodes of Cave Saga X.

 _Do you know this book?_ Jane typed.

"Y… yes! I absolutely worship these series! Did you read 'Cave Saga X: Demon Lord of the Round Table'? Or 'Starfighters of Dunov Constellation'? 'The Orion Alliance'…" Sebastian stopped when he saw Jane becoming dizzy of how many he could name. "Oh, sorry. Anyway, how many out of all 26 do you have?" Sebastian asked as he peeked at the pile of books laid next to Jane. "…Why are there 28? Are the other sequels I've never heard of?"

 _You don't know? It's the 27th book of the series: 'Cave Saga X: Operation Ablation' and 'Cave Saga X: Nuclear Winter'!_

"Oh, they've released two more books?"

 _'Operation Ablation' is the prequel to the first book and 'Nuclear Winter' is the sequel to 'Siege of Nalgograd'. I'm surprised that you've never heard of them._ Jane typed. _Besides, 'Cave Saga X part 26: Alliance of Blood' was released at 2016._

"Well, living in a small town has its limitations." Sebastian said, scratching the back of his head. "…which is why I want to get out… I mean, why I go visit Prometheus or Zuzu for the new stuff rarely because of how expensive gasoline is these days!" He stuttered. Jane gave a worried glare but looked away. 'Oh damn, did I mess up?' Sebastian thought as he took another look at Jane's book pile. "Hey, what's that?" He pointed at a large but relatively flat book below a pile of Sign Language books. "OH MY GOD! IS THAT THE SOLARION CHRONICLES ENCYCLOPEDIA?!" He exclaimed. Jane giggled as she nodded in response. He took the book and flipped through the pages. It was the dream of every Solarion Chronicles fan. "I absolutely love the board game!" He said, hugging the book.

 _Well, I lost the board game, so it's practically useless unless I want to get creative and make my own class._ Jane typed. She continued taking out things from the box until she found a small chest the size of a car battery with a numeric keypad on the front. She inputted the password and it clicked open. Inside were a collection of games that every collector would crave for. There were cases of 'Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion', 'StarCraft II: The complete edition', Overwatch: the collector's edition', a pile of Steam and Blizzard gift cards and another small action figure box. Jane opened the small box to reveal a TEC Kol Battleship model from Sins of a Solar Empire. _Do you know what this is?_ Jane asked.

"Th… that's the Kol battleship from SOASE!" Sebastian exclaimed. "I want to live with you!" He jokingly added. Jane burst into laughter in response. "Looks like there are some few things to take out. What are they?" He asked as he helped Jane take out an XBOX One and a personally assembled PC along with two monitors and a gaming keyboard. "You're so lucky!" Sebastian remarked.

 _I bought them with my own pocket money. I lost a lot of grades during middle school, you know._ Jane typed while giving a shrug. _Anyway, let's unbox that thing over there. I'm sure it's the TV._

"Sure thing." Sebastian said as he cut the taping of the thin box. He and Jane slowly took out what looked like a 1 meter wide flatscreen TV. Sebastian tried his best to hide his jealousy. If only his true father was still around. "I'll help you set things up." He said as he proceeded to assemble the IKEA desk and bookshelf.

It was 8 o'clock at night when Sebastian and Jane finished their work cleaning up. Jane threw the folded box papers on one side of the porch as Sebastian made sure that all the electronics were working. They played some Rocket League on the Xbox until Robin called Sebastian for dinner. "Well, I'd better be going." He said, standing up. Suddenly, Jane stopped him. She silently handed him three familiar books. With shaky hands, Sebastian accepted them. They were the two Cave Saga X books and the Solarion Chronicles Encyclopedia.

 _I'll let you borrow them for some time. I've read them all._ Jane typed. Suddenly, Sebastian couldn't help but kiss her on the cheek, giving heat and surge to the two once again.

"Uh… well, see you tomorrow. Saloon night's then, after all." Sebastian awkwardly said as he rushed out of the cottage. 'Damnit, you idiot! What have you done?' He scolded himself as he punched his chest as hard as he could. He couldn't imagine what he had just done. What would Jane think of him now? A pervert? Sebastian coughed as he ran up the mountain. More blood droplets fell to the soil. Something was happening to him, and he did not like it.


	8. CHAPTER 7: Education (Jane)

**CHAPTER 7: EDUCATION (JANE)**

Jane looked at the clock on the wall as she ate her breakfast of instant noodles. It was seven o'clock and Sebastian was nowhere to be found. 'Where is he?' Jane asked herself as she drank up the broth. She limped outside of her cottage to find all three paths to Agria Farm void of people. She gave a sigh. What happened? She pulled out her phone and texted her guide. No response. Shrugging, Jane decided that she would tend the farm herself today. She took her tools and went to work. None of her crops were ready to harvest yet. However, she still had some potato seeds that she bought a few days ago but forgot to plant it. Nodding, she grabbed her hoe and tried to till the soil. As she was slowly making her way to where she planned to finish, she accidentally hit a stone with her tool. The stone shattered into pieces and some of the fragments hit her face. Jane gave a scream of pain as she fell to the ground, clenching her injured face. Blood dribbled from her scars. Tears fell from her eyes. As she tried to get up, her prosthetic leg prevented her from kneeling, making it extremely difficult for her to stand. She managed to get up using her hands as a support. As she was about to clench her bloody facial wound with her dirty hands, somebody grabbed her arms. Jane frantically looked at the perpetrator to find that it was Sebastian. Concern surrounded his face.

"What were you thinking? Do you want to get infected?" Sebastian asked. Jane shook her head. "Here, let's go to Harvey. We can work with the farm later." He added as he took Jane's hand and escorted her to Pelican Town.

"How bad is it?" Sebastian asked as Harvey inspected the multiple wounds.

"No signs of infections so far, Mr. Callahan." Harvey said, looking around with his small flashlight.

"Please. Can you just call me by my first name?"

"Sure then, Sebastian. We'll need to do some light treatment. The rock chippings might have some bacteria on it."

"I'll pay for it." Sebastian said, making Jane startle. She glared at Sebastian as if she was exclaiming if he was crazy of not. "Don't worry, Jane. I have enough for it. Besides, it's just a small injury!" Sebastian assured. Jane, however, frantically gave sign language signals to Harvey, asking him to interpret it to the raven-haired boy.

"She says that you're crazy. Uh… She also said that she has the money." Harvey interpreted. Sebastian stood like a rock and shook his head.

"Jane, I know that you're economically unstable, no offense. Just let me do something good at least for once." Sebastian said. Jane, seeing his determination, nodded with a sigh. Harvey gave a nod too as he soaked a cotton swab with medical alcohol and dabbed it on Jane's wounds. It stung like a bee, but a decade of suffering was nothing compared to this. Harvey then covered the wounds with bandages. "Okay, you're ready to go. Sebastian, you may pay me later. For now, thank you for taking her to me." Harvey said.

"All in a day's work." Sebastian replied, taking Jane's shoulder. "Thanks, Doc." He added as he walked out of the clinic. As the two was outside, Jane slapped the raven-haired boy on the cheek. "Ow! Why?" He asked.

 _Did you really have to blurt that out in front of someone I barely know?!_ Jane angrily typed.

"Well, I thought you needed some help!" Sebastian replied. Jane shook her head in anger.

 _Things like these are what made me give up on making friends. I don't want this to happen like what happened before I came here._

"I'm sorry. I really am."

 _Whatever. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'm going back to my farm._ Just as Sebastian was trying to escort her back, she hit her arms in refusal. _I don't need your help._ She typed as she limped back to Agria Farm. Sebastian, unable to comprehend what has happened, gave a sigh as he walked to the nearby river for a smoke. Jane too sighed as she saw her guide smoking.

Jane tripped once again on the deep fertile soil as she was sowing her potato seeds. She rubbed her only knee to soothe the petty pain that followed. She was horrified that the soil became uneven due to her body as she stood up. Giving a sigh, she grabbed her hoe and tilled the spot again. As she finalized with her seeds, she proceeded to limp to her watering can. She found it empty. Exhausted and in constant pain, she begrudgingly limped her way to a nearby pond to refill her can. As she dipped her can, her metallic hand slipped, causing the can to sin to the bottom. Without strength to retrieve it, Jane gave a sigh of defeat. 'Why can't things go as planned?' She scolded herself as she stretched out. With the little strength she had left, she dipped her arms in the water and picked up the soaked can. She stood up to water her seeds and eventually the rest of her crops. With this out of the way and with little to no stamina remaining, Jane had an option to simple lie down on her bed with a sweaty body or go see her friends. Her cottage was cluttered with stuff that she had in Korea, thus maneuvering through all the books and furniture was more of a chore to her at this state. Thus, she limped her way to Pelican Town. Multiple people greeted her on the way such as Jodi Arvidel and Caroline Berneau, their last questions were all about the whereabouts of Sebastian. Jane simply gave a shrug to these questions as she limped her way to the mountain path. It was extremely difficult without Sebastian helping her. She constantly tripped on the ground and occasionally, on small rocks. Not giving up, she continued her trek up the mountain. She started to feel sorry for giving hurt to her very own guide and friend. Although she may have been shamed by her current financial issues, which she only had four thousand Galleons on her bank account; she knew that he was trying to help her in a way. She needed to apologize. But how? As she limped her way past the dilapidated building, she thought of a plan. She would say sorry and promise that she would compensate in a way that is equal to the pain she gave. As she confirmed that this will surely work, her prosthetic leg hit another stone, causing her to fall not on the dry ground, but on muddy water. Jane stood up to find her favorite yellow shirt covered in mud. Seeing how far she went but knowing that there was still a long way to go, Jane fell posterior-first and started to weep. She couldn't do it alone. 'I'm just a mute girl with no arm and leg. Why am I still living here?' Jane blamed herself, crying out loud. Just as she wiped her tears and struggled to stand up, a dark skinned hand helped her up. Jane looked up to find that the helper was Demetrius Callahan, the second husband of Robin and Maru's biological and Sebastian's step-father.

"Jane? Are you okay?" Demetrius asked. As Jane rummaged through her pockets for her phone, he stopped her. "Just answer it with a yes or no." He added. Jane nodded. "I see. Are you heading for our house?" Jane nodded. "Do you need help?" She shook her head. However, Demetrius seemed to have read her mind as he saw tears continuously rolling down from her cheeks. "Here, I'll help you up there. Don't mind if I touch you?" he asked. Jane shook her head as Demetrius held her shoulder and steadily walked up the mountain.

"Jane? Oh my Yoba! What happened to you?" Robin asked as she saw Demetrius and Jane coming out from the front door.

"She tripped on muddy water. I pray that she won't get ." Demetrius replied.

"Oh dear. I'll go get you some clothes, Jane. In the meantime, go sit down on the dining table! Dem, get a towel ready!" Robin said as she rushed into one of the two rooms at the back. Demetrius nodded at Jane as he too followed his wife inside. Not knowing what to do, Jane looked around the Carpenters' Shop. The area where Robin worked was filled with mists of sawdust. It smelled like it, too. There was a small laboratory right before the dining room. Its tiles and walls were made up of sky blue granite. There were laboratory equipment everywhere including two electronic microscope. Jane could easily spot a Geiger Muller counter placed next to one of the vases with copper (II) sulfate inside. Jane knew all of this thanks to her deep knowledge to chemistry and biology. She looked behind her to see a pile of stairs that lead down to a door cluttered with POLICE DO NOT CROSS tapes. Curious, she made her way down the stairs and to the door. Taking a breath of confidence, she gently knocked on the door three times.

"Who is it?" a masculine voice called out from the other side. Jane knew exactly who it was: Sebastian. Jane wanted to call out her name, but the words couldn't escape her destroyed throat. "Who is it?! It better not be Maru pranking me again!" Sebastian shouted as Jane heard footsteps approach the door. Anxiety swiveled around her as the door quickly opened to reveal the raven-haired boy wearing a black and white T-shirt. "Jane? What are you doing here?" Sebastian asked.

 _I wanted to say something with you._ Jane typed.

"Well, I was about to get ready and go help you… Oh dear." Sebastian said with worry as he looked at the condition of Jane. Her bright yellow shirt was covered in brown mud and her hair had grains of sand on it. "Uh… you may come in." He added as Jane entered his room. Jane took a look around the room of her guide. The room was a bit dusty with cobwebs on the corners of the walls. The walls were wooden just like most of the house. There was a long bookshelf on the left side of the door. Judging by the color, they mostly looked like comic books. There was a relatively soft looking single bed right beside the bookshelf. There was a small coffee table near the center where there was the board of the Solarion Chronicles board game. Finally, Jane looked at Sebastian who recently sat down on his desk where there were two computers. One of them, which he was using, was on. "Hey, uh… Hold on. Let me finish this." He said, typing away on his computer. Jane nodded as she limped closer to her guide's desk. A few seconds have passed when Sebastian moved his and to his mouse and clicked on something. "There. Thanks for waiting."

 _What are you doing?_ Jane typed.

"Oh, I'm… a freelancer programmer." Sebastian replied as Jane bent over next to him. There were countless lines of code shining on the monitor. "It's coding for an internet pop-up, in case you were wondering." Jane nodded in response.

'I'm surprised he's not wearing glasses if he works like this…' Jane thought. Suddenly, something popped up from his toolbar. It was a Facebook notification.

"Huh? What's this?" Sebastian asked himself as he clicked the pop-up to open his page. It was a message from Sam. Sebastian squinted to read what his blonde friend has sent him. "…Wanna chill in my house?" He read out.

 _You know that we can go together._

"Nah, I don't feel like doing such shenanigans today." Sebastian said as he typed a refusal in his messages. "Anyway, about things that happened before…" He said to Jane. She patiently waited for him to speak. "I'm really sorry for earlier. I really shouldn't have opened my mouth." Sebastian continued, dropping his head down.

 _Sebastian, it's okay. I was just embarrassed about my financial status._

"It's just that I forgot how asking about this is against manners. I'm an antisocial, you see." Sebastian continued his apology. "I'm pretty sure the backlash might be worse at your country. I'm genuinely sorry. Besides, whatever happened yesterday…" He continued. He blushed as he thought about what happened last night. He remembered everything. He was so thankful to Jane about the three books he borrowed that he kissed her on the cheek. However, Jane didn't seem to change emotions when he brought up the topic. "…I'm really sorry about the… event."

 _Oh, you mean the kiss on the cheek?_ Jane asked without delay. Sebastian's face became ruddy by her words.

"Well, yeah. You see, I really like the Cave Saga X and the Solarion Chronicles. I lose my mind just by thinking about them."

 _Sebastian, it's okay. I too love the series. Besides, to be honest, I liked the kiss. This was actually the first time someone other than my family to do it._ Jane assured, blushing.

"Uh… oh well. I guess that fixes up things…" Sebastian said as Robin entered the room without knocking. "Mom, have you heard of knocking?"

"I'm sorry Sebby, but I've just received a called from Abigail. She said that she's coming over." Robin said.

"Did you tell her that I'm working?"

"Well, yes. But she said that she's coming over anyway."

"Ugh, why do people think that I'm sitting in the basement only playing games or surfing the net? You guys don't say anything when Maru does insane work like in the clinic!"

"Sebby, I understand that you're a hard working boy and are helping our family. It's just that…"

"No, you don't understand. I've had enough with Demetrius's so-called scolding!" Sebastian interrupted angrily.

"Sebby, he's your father!" Robin raised her voice.

"No, HE'S NOT! I'm going to leave this stupid place once I earn enough money for myself!" Sebastian shouted back. Just as the fight was escalating, Jane was stuck in jeopardy. She didn't wish to be part of this fight, but didn't wish to be disrespectful. However, seeing that Sebastian might add fuel to the fire, she gave the loudest scream possible. Robin and Sebastian stopped what they were doing and faced Jane. Jane was panting. Screaming had completely drained her energy. She fell face first to the wooden floor with her world turning dizzy.

"Jane? JANE?!" Sebastian shouted as he ran towards his unconscious friend. Jane was hyperventilating. Just as Sebastian shook her back, trying to get her attention, Demetrius came into the commotion.

"What happened?" Demetrius asked.

"It's a long story, Demetrius! Can you check what's happening to her?" Sebastian asked. Demetrius nodded as he knelt down to investigate.

"She's thoroughly exhausted. Robin, help me up to Sebastian's bed! Did you get her Maru's shirt?" Demetrius asked his wife. Robin nodded as she showed Demetrius a purple T-shirt with a wrench drawn on it. "Perfect. Sebastian, follow me out while she dresses her up!" He said to his son as he and Robin lowered Jane down on his bed. Sebastian followed his step-father out of his room.

"Jane? Are you okay?" Robin asked as Jane slowly gained consciousness. Jane gasped as she bolted up to check where she was. She was still in Sebastian's room. She checked her body to find herself wearing a purple shirt. She rummaged for her phone but Robin handed hers instead.

 _Where's Sebastian?_ _What happened to him?_ Jane asked.

"Sebby's with his father. I don't know what they're doing right now." Robin replied. Just then, Jane took off from the bed and limped straight out of the room. She climbed the stairs to find Sebastian and Demetrius arguing. The two stopped what they were doing and turned to the farmer. Jane gritted her teeth as she stormed out of the Shop. As Jane limped down the mountain, Sebastian grabbed her shoulder. She tried shrugging him off, but his grip tightened instead. She angrily turned to her guide and furiously typed on her phone.

 _DO YOU REALLY HATE HELPING ME?!_

"Jane, it's not what you think!" Sebastian tried to assure her, but she slapped his cheek.

 _I TRUSTED YOU WHEN YOU VOLUNTEERED AS MY GUIDE DURING MY FIRST DAY HERE. I SEE THAT YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE VALLEY BECAUSE YOU HATE YOUR FAMILY, CORRECT?_

"Jane, please…" Sebastian said. Tears start to roll from Jane's eyes.

 _DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, YOU BASTARD! YOU HATE THE MANUAL WORK THAT I HAVE TO FACE! I CAME TO STARDEW VALLEY TO MAKE TRUE FRIENDS AND BE ACCEPTED, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!_

"Jane…" Sebastian said as tears started rolling down from his eyes, too. He proceeded to hug Jane. She tried to struggle her way out but failed. "I'm so sorry! I lose my mind whenever I engage in a fight! I really want to help you!" he said. "I just missed my biological father, that's it." Jane fell into a dilemma. She started to feel sorry for her actions, too. She didn't know what happened to her guide's real father. She also realized that she didn't say sorry for the hurt she committed to Sebastian, too. She burst into tears as she embraced Sebastian as tight as she could. "Jane, I'm sorry." Sebastian said as he rocked the farmer left and right.

'I'm so sorry…' Jane tried to speak, but all that left her throat was inaudible noises.

"Uh… oh dear." Sebastian said to himself after hearing the noises. He let Jane go, but she hanged onto him even tighter, signaling him not to go. "We should go finish your farm chores." Sebastian explained. Jane shook her head. She was now feeling frustrated that not even Sebastian could understand what she wished to say when both of her hands were being used. Suddenly, something in Jane clicked when Sebastian opened his mouth as if he read her mind. "Jane, I understand that you're frustrated. I can see it in your face." Sebastian said. Jane looked up to him. "You know, I can take my working time to learn sign language from you. Is it okay?" he asked. It was the most beautiful thing that Jane had heard. This was never something that Jane expected. Back in Korea, it was her who had to adapt to the audible world around her. Now, she was more than happy to see her closest person to sacrifice something to do something for her. Although feeling a bit sorry for his work, Jane donned frantically. "Great. When do we start?" Sebastian asked. Jane released him and typed on her phone.

 _What time are you free?_

"Uh… Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Come to think about it, I don't work during those days!" Sebastian replied. "What if I get the tutoring at… 4:00 PM?" Jane nodded with a giant smile. "Great, then! Say, I think that's Abigail coming over there." Sebastian said, pointing at the purple haired girl walking towards them.


	9. CHAPTER 8: Schooling (Sebastian)

**CHAPTER 8: SCHOOLING (SEBASTIAN)**

 _Abigail Berneau: What happened? Why was Jane crying?_

 _Sebastian Callahan: I don't know. Why are you asking me?_

 _Abigail Berneau: I saw her eyes wet. Did you reject her confession or something?_

 _Sebastian Callahan: Shut up._

 _Abigail Berneau: Ooooooo I'm telling Sam and your mom about this!_

 _Sebastian Callahan: Just… just shut up. I'll murder everything you love if any of this is leaked. Understood?_

 _Abigail Berneau: Whatever. I'm going to go play with Jane again._

 _Sebastian Callahan: Joke's on you. She's playing Sins of a Solar Empire next to me._

 _Abigail Berneau: : (_

Sebastian chuckled as he locked his phone. He was the one sitting at the side of the computer. It was usually Sam who was in his current spot, but this was different. He was watching the farmer play the strategy game as the TEC rebels. "What do you like about this faction, anyway?" Sebastian asked as he saw Jane construct another Marza Dreadnought.

 _I like the fact that they don't have to fight the pirates. Not to mention the Titan!_ Jane hastily typed on her phone and continued playing the game. 'Okay, I'll split this armada into three fleets.' She thought as she separated her large group of ships into three control groups.

"You know, we can play this together some time. I usually play as the Vasari Loyalists." Sebastian suggested as he took a look at the clock hung up on the wall. It was already eight o'clock. His mother would call the two for dinner some time. "Well, I don't think we can now. Battles in this game last about an hour, so…"

 _Who else plays this? I like the idea that I'll play with someone!_ Jane typed.

"…Sam. He rarely plays it because he likes FPS games better. Well, when he decides to play it, he usually goes for the TEC Loyalists, but gives absolutely no damn about defense structures like his faction is strong at. What a stupid bastard." Sebastian replied. Jane giggled as a response.

"Kids, supper's ready!" Robin called from the dining room. Grunting, Sebastian stood up and took Jane's hand as she paused the game.

"You may have to go after that, you know." Sebastian said. Jane pouted as she saved the game and quit. She gave a nod as she accepted her friend's hand as he guided her upstairs.

"…So, how was the meal?" Robin asked as she took Jane's empty plate.

 _It was delicious!_ Jane replied through her phone.

"Glad to hear that, Jane! This was my mother's recipe!" Robin remarked as she placed the plates in the sink. "I'm also happy that you and Sebby fixed each other after what happened before."

"Mom, let's not talk about that." Sebastian said as he looked through his Facebook on his phone. Jane tried peeking at his screen only to have him lean away from her.

"Aw, what wrong? This was the first time you've hugged someone other than…"

"MOM!" Sebastian cut Robin's words just before she could finish. His face turned ruddy. Jane and Maru howled in laughter at his reaction. "Jesus rollerblading Christ, you two." He added as he slapped his face.

"What? It's true that it's been years since you hugged Ab…"

"SHUT UP, MARU!" Sebastian interrupted Maru, blushing heavily. "What are you, 12?!"

"Seb, I'm 15. I've seen you with…"

"No. That's enough, Maru. Just… ugh, just get back to the lab." Sebastian said, pointing at the laboratory. Demetrius glared at his step-son's actions, but decided not to speak about it due to what happened before.

"Jane, it's 9 o'clock. Don't you think it's getting late?" Demetrius asked. Jane nodded. "Sebastian, take her to her farm." Sebastian begrudgingly nodded as he escorted Jane out of the house. He opened what looked like shutter doors to reveal a blue chopper motorcycle polished to the brim.

"…You've never seen my bike before?" Sebastian asked Jane. She glared at him in response as if it was an obvious answer. "Oh, I guess I haven't shown you." He said as he pushed the bike out from the garage and out to the open.

 _How am I going to ride this?_ Jane asked, pointing at her prosthetic leg. Sebastian paused for a while to think, and then thought of an idea. He entered the garage and opened one of the tool shelves. He took out some rope and tied a noose around the left side of the bike.

"There. That should hold that leg during the journey. Hop on." Sebastian said as he mounted his bike and started the engine. He then helped Jane on the back of the bike and inserted her thin metallic leg in the noose to put it in place. "Alright, hold on tight!" Sebastian said as he revved the engine. Jade gave a short scream and grabbed his waist tightly. "Chillax, Jane! We haven't even started moving yet!" Sebastian said, chuckling. Jade slapped his back, pouting. "Alright, then. For real, let's go." Sebastian said as he revved the engine once more. The bike lurched forward with great speed. Thanks to its said speed, the duo reached Agria Farm in less than two minutes. Sebastian helped Jane off the bike and took her to the cottage door. _Thank you!_ Jane typed.

"Heh, it's all in a day's work." Sebastian replied. "Say, was the ride fun?" Jane nodded in response. "See, I told you that there was nothing to be scared of!"

 _It's just that this was my first time on a bike. I've seen how fast pizza delivery bikes were back at Korea and that made me want to ride one._

"Heh, that's cool. Hey, it's Friday tomorrow, right? I'll see you here tomorrow and help you with your farm work. We'll then start with my tutoring in sign language, alright?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded with a large smile, despite looking tired. "Okay, see you tomorrow." Sebastian concluded as he hugged Jane and returned to his bike after seeing the door close. He drove out of the farm and upwards back to the mountains while coughing out blood. 'God damnit, Sebastian. Why is this happening?!' He scolded himself as he wiped the blood from his mouth before entering the Carpenter's Shop.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

It was Sebastian's alarm clock signaling that it was 6 o'clock in the morning. Sebastian begrudgingly rose from his already messy bed and washed the drowsiness from his face. Times like these made him wonder how Jane could manage to live like this. He dressed up and walked upstairs to find the house absolutely dilapidated of people. His parents and half-sister were sleeping in their rooms. Seeing that there was nobody to stop him, he opened the refrigerator and took out a box of microwavable pizza. Just as he closed the door, Sebastian looked to his right to find something of utter shock: His mother was standing there with a gigantic axe on her two mighty hands. Horrified, Sebastian dropped the pizza box and scurried to the edge of the wall. "Who are you?!" Robin exclaimed with a groggy voice. She was probably extremely tired.

"Mom, it's me! Sebastian!" Sebastian nervously exclaimed as he formed into a fetal position. Hearing his voice, Robin snapped into reality.

"Sebby? It was you?" Robin asked. Sebastian nodded, holding out his arm to prevent her from coming any closer. Seeing what she had done, Robin lowered her axe down and embraced her son. "I'm so sorry, Sebby! I forgot that you were supposed to wake up so early!" She said, rubbing her cheek with his.

"Whatever, mom. I really need to get something to eat and then go see Jane. I don't want to make you suffer by making my breakfast, so…" Sebastian tried to say, but was cut short by his mother.

"Sebby, you are my son. There is no way I'm going to let my baby eat junk food! Wait here. I'll make you some breakfast!" Robin interrupted as she reached out to turn on the stove, but Sebastian stopped her.

"Mom, pizza isn't junk food. Didn't you read the history of Italian cuisine, anyway? You're tired. I'll take care of my own things, mom. I'm a grown man." Sebastian assured. After a long pause, Robin gave a nod as she entered her room again for sleep. Seeing that she was gone, Sebastian placed the pizza in the microwave. After he set the timer to three minutes, he climbed down to his room to retrieve what Jane told him to bring: A notebook and some pencils. 'Well, this would be interesting.' Sebastian thought as he heard the microwave beep, signaling that the pizza was ready. He pulled it out and ate two slices. He would have finished the entire box if the clock on the wall didn't strike 6: 00. He decided to take the box and his notebook with him towards Agria Farm.

Sebastian knocked on the door, waiting for Jane to open it. 'Should I eat this right now…?' he asked himself as he stared at the pizza box. Just as he looked back to see the growing crops, the door swung open with Jane already on her work clothes giving a disarming smile.

 _Hi, Sebastian!_ Jane typed on her phone.

"Hey, Jane. Did you eat breakfast?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded in response. "What did you eat?"

 _I ate some milk and cereal. What about you?_

"Uh… this is my breakfast." Sebastian awkwardly said, holding up the flat red pizza box. Jane gave a giggle.

 _You still didn't eat it?_ Sebastian nodded. _May I have some?_

"Hey, why not? We can start with the farm later. May I come in?" Sebastian asked. Jane gave a nod as she moves aside to let her friend in. He placed the box on the table and opened it to reveal the partially eaten pizza.

 _So you did eat some of it!_ Jane typed.

"I'm still hungry. Want some slices?" Sebastian asked, taking a slice and handing it to Jane. She gladly accepted it and took small bites out of it while Sebastian gobbled onto the food. When the two emptied the box, Jane threw it away and grabbed her watering can from the ground. Sebastian opened the door for her as Jane limped out with full preparations with performing her agricultural chores. Her cauliflowers were ready. In fact, this was her first cauliflower harvest. Sebastian helped her get down as she rooted the crops from the fertile soil. He ran back to the cottage to retrieve two baskets. He gave one to Jane, who simple placed it on the ground and dropped the cauliflowers in there. Sebastian helped her by kneeling down to root out the crops himself. For some reason, he started to feel entertained seeing Jane smiling by her accomplishments. When Jane told Sebastian that she harvested all of her cauliflower, Sebastian helped her stand properly as she watered the crops that were yet to grow. She mostly concentrated on her potatoes as she planted hundreds of it. Thus, her farm grew exponentially over the past week. However, due to the increased size of the farm, Jane needed more help from Sebastian as she would get easily exhausted. With the last crop watered, Jane and Sebastian walked to the produce bin near the mailbox. Sebastian dumped his collection into it while Jane placed it in one by one. He shrugged the curiosity a Jane approached him, handing out a large cauliflower with both of her hands. "…For me?" Sebastian asked, seeing her face ruddy. She nodded in response. "Hey, thanks! Thus is a nice gift." Sebastian replied as he accepted the vegetable. Jane's disarming smile made Sebastian's lips twitch into a small smile. Jane started to blush heavily as she looked away. Sebastian gave a cough as blood splattered on the ground near them. Jade didn't notice it, luckily.

 _I think we should buy some more seeds._ Jane typed as she walked to her mailbox. She saw that there was an envelope from Lewis himself.

"What is it?" Sebastian asked as Jane tore it to reveal the letter inside.

 _Dear Jane,_

 _Tomorrow we're holding our annual Egg Festival in the town square._

 _You should arrive between 9AM and 2PM if you wish to attend. We will hold the annual Egg Hunt then! You may join if you wish!_

 _-Mayor Lewis, 12th Spring, 2019_

"Oh, it's the Egg Festival tomorrow. In other words, Abigail's victory parade." Sebastian jokingly said, giving a smirk. Jane howled in laughter by this.

 _Okay, let's be real. Let's go to the General Store._ Jane typed, limping out of the farm. Sebastian hurried to her as she nearly tripped on the loose sand.

"…Will that finalize your sale?" Pierre asked as he scanned the barcodes of Jane's cauliflower seeds. Jane nodded in response. "Alright, then. That would be 1200 Galleons!" He concluded. Jane searched through her wallet to find that she hadn't enough. With dread and worry filling her face, Jane frantically searched around her pockets to search for any more money. Sebastian, seeing this, knew that he needed to do something. He secretly checked his wallet to remove 800 Galleons from it.

"Pierre, here's most of it." Sebastian said as he handed the money to the shopkeeper. Jane, seeing this, took out 400 Galleons and placed it on to the counter. Seeing that the total matched the price required. Pierre put the money into the cash register.

"Thank you for shopping at Pierre's General Store! I hope to see you two again!" Pierre said with a big smile. Jane bowed to him as she limped towards Abigail who had recently entered the shop. She turned back to the raven-haired boy and gave a tight hug. Sebastian knew what she was trying to say.

"You're welcome." He said. Jane gave a pat on his back and limped to her purple-haired friend. While they were talking about whatever girls talk about, Sebastian gave a shrug as he walked out of the store to take a smoke. He pulled out his electric cigarette and took a long drag. His life seemed be changing ever since Jane's arrival. He wanted to escape the valley to get a job to start an indie gaming business at Niobius City, the technological city of Ferngill Republic. Although he still wished that he would leave Stardew Valley due to the torture his step-father gives him, his days with Jane seemed to compensate it. '…It'll go away. I'll make sure that I leave as soon as Jane doesn't need me.' Sebastian thought as he puffed out blueberry-flavored smoke from his mouth. Just as he turned off his cigarette, he saw Jane standing beside him tapping her foot.

 _Are you done?_ Jane asked.

"Yeah, I'm done with that!" Sebastian said, holding his cigarette on his back. He put it in his pocket and escorted Jane back to Agria Farm.

 _I don't understand you smokers._ Jane typed as the two walked on the path to the farm.

"What do you don't understand?"

 _If you know that smoking will eventually kill you, why do you still do it?_

"Chillax, Jane. This is an E-Cig! It has no side effects! Science proved so!" Hearing this, Jane gave a smirk of disbelief.

 _Did you just say that to a biochemist major student? You just wait. I have a research paper I made when I was 11th grade in my computer. I'll show you my discoveries after your tutoring!_

"Whoa, chill Jane! You don't have to be that angry about it!" Sebastian said, sweating. As soon as they reached Agria Farm, the duo went back to work on sowing the newly bought seeds on the same soil that their previous cauliflowers were growing and watered it. With that out of the way, the duo walked into the cottage where Jane had already set up a desk for the two to study.

"…So was this G?" Sebastian asked Jane as he made the 'OK' sign with his right hand but with his pinky, ring and middle finger stuck together. Jane shook her head and giggled.

 _No, that's F! G is this!_ Jane wrote on her notebook as she made a fist with her hand and pulled out the index finger. Her thumb slid down to where the index was.

"Whoops!" Sebastian said as he drew the hand sign on his notebook. It was his first class and he had already used five pages of his notebook with drawings of sign alphabets. "Okay, so G is that… got it." He added. "Okay. That means H would be… this!" He said as he made the same sign as G, but with his middle finger pulled out. Jane gave a big disarming smile as she nodded vigorously. "'I' would be…" he said as he made a rock-and-roll symbol. Jane, seeing this, blushed heavily. "W… What's wrong? Did I do something that offended you?" Sebastian asked worriedly.

 _No, it's nothing. 'I' is this._ Jane replied, folding Sebastian's index finger. She eagerly waited for her raven-haired friend to pronounce 'J'. Sebastian tried his best to remember what she taught her just an hour ago. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He pulled his index finger out from a fist and drew the letter 'J'. He waited for his teacher to give a positive answer, but all Jane did was pout and whimper as she bounced on her chair as if she was craving for the right answer. 'Did I do it wrong?' Sebastian thought as he rummaged through his memories to find what he missed. He found it. He replaced his index finger with his pinkie just like 'I', but drew the letter 'J' with it. Jane gave a squeal of happiness. He got it correctly. "Whoa, chill Jane! Did I get it right?" Sebastian asked.

 _Yes!_ Jane wrote.

"That's great!" Sebastian replied as he continued to revise what he had learned.

The moon was starting to rise when Jane decided that it was time to end their first sign language tutoring. Dark and heavy bags were visible under her eyes, signaling that she was thoroughly exhausted due to how much productive the duo was today. "Hey, thanks for today." Sebastian said as he closed his notebook.

 _No problem!_ Jane replied. _I'm so happy that I got to teach somebody something that I can share!_ She added. After finishing her writing on her paper, she turned her face to Sebastian, giving another disarming smile.

"Yeah, It's not so boring going back to school!" Sebastian replied, blushing. He felt another surge in his body. 'Ugh, why does this keep happening?' he thought to himself. "I actually found this fun!"

 _I'm glad that you like it! I enjoyed teaching you! You were so cute!_

"Heh, thanks Jane. I'm not sure about the 'cute' part though." Sebastian replied. His surge formed in him stronger. He checked his phone to find that it was already 9 o'clock at night and there were two missed calls from her mother. He needed to inform his mother that he had already ate dinner with Jane. "Hey, uh… I have to go. I'll pick you up at 7 o'clock, okay?" Sebastian asked, walking to the door. Jane nodded in response. Just as he was about to open the door, he stopped. "Jane, if we start to go to more advanced stuff about sign language, I'm pretty sure that you'll only talk to me through sign language, right?" He asked, facing Jane. She nodded. "Well, are you going to refer to my name with sign alphabet?"

 _Seb, there are millions of ways of identifying yourself in sign language. I think it's best to give you your own sign._

"Yeah? I see. What are you going to refer me as?" Sebastian asked. Jane thought for a while and moved her hands. She made gun signs with both of her hands and made her index fingers contact with her chin. Sebastian gave a nod. "Alright. This will be my sign name." He said as he mimicked the sign. Jane gave a high pitched squeal as she blushed heavily. "I… I better go. See you tomorrow!" Sebastian said as he waver her goodbye and left the cottage. As he walked back to the Carpenter's Shop, he thought of something. Two hands shaped like a gun with both index fingers making contact with the chin… That was now what he is to Jane. All he had to question was why Jane was acting like she met a popular singer whenever he did anything that seemed to satisfy her. Secondly, what did that rock-and-roll symbol mean in sign language?


	10. CHAPTER 9: Poacher (Jane)

**NOTES:** from now on, according to Sebastian's perspective, anything that is spoken in Korean will be written in Korean. In Jane's perspective, it will be written in English.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9: POACHER (JANE)**

'This is just right!' Jane thought as she looked to herself at the mirror. She was wearing a pair of short jeans along with a green T-Shirt that has the logo of World of Tanks drawn on it. '…Although the prosthetics make me look hideous…' She thought to herself as she saw her metallic deformed limbs. Today is the annual Egg Festival. The clothes that she is wearing now is what she will wear during the festival. For now, Jane had work to do. She stripped off her clothes and replaced them with her usual work clothes. Instead of her yellow shirt, she replaced it with a white t-shirt along with black overall short jeans. Her jeans limited her prosthetic leg's movements. Just as she gave a nod and was about to grab her watering can, she heard a knock on the door. Limping to it while avoiding the books that she left on the ground, she opened the door to reveal Lewis with a file full of papers.

"Hello, Jane! My, you look lovely today!" Lewis remarked as he handed the file to Jane.

 _Thank you!_ Jane replied through her phone. As Jane accepted the file, Lewis took a look at her face. Dark bags were weighing down below her eyes.

"Jane, didn't you sleep last night?" Lewis asked.

 _I did, but I was teaching Sebastian how to read sign language!_

"Oh, that is great, Jane! But I'm concerned about how you will enjoy the Egg Festival today. Anyway, looks like that's Sebastian coming in the farm. See you later!" Lewis said, looking beside him to see a raven-haired boy approaching the farm. Jane bowed down to say goodbye and waved Sebastian as a warm greeting. How can she forget her usual disarming smile?

"Hey, Jane… whoa…" Sebastian said in amazement on what Jane was wearing. Clearing his throat, he focused back on what he was about to say. "…Should we get to work?" He asked as he saw Jane with the file. Jane nodded in response. Placing the file on her desk, Jane picked up her watering can and walked to her soil where her crops were growing.

"Phew! That was a lot of work to be done!" Sebastian said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Jane was lightly hyperventilating due to exhaustion. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked. Jane nodded. "Uh… what was that file, anyway? You know, what you had before we went to work?"

 _Oh that? It's the research paper that I was talking about! You said that E-cigs were completely okay, right?_ Jane replied.

"Whoa, I was joking about the science part! I'm agreeing with the no-side-effects part, though." Sebastian replied. In disbelief, Jane bolted up and stormed into the cottage. She retrieved the files and walked out back to the raven-haired boy and handed it to him. Sebastian opened it to find twelve papers filled with writings. "…So you wrote this when you were in 11th grade?" He asked with amazement. Jane nodded in response.

 _I want you to read it._ Jane typed.

"But Jane…"

 _No excuses! You are NOT going anywhere until you finish reading that report!_

"…The Egg Festival already began!" Sebastian said. Jane rolled her eye away. Mayor Lewis wouldn't be happy if she missed the first festival of Stardew Valley. Giving a sigh, she began typing on her phone.

 _Fine. That will be your homework for today. Give me the files and we'll go to town._ Sebastian nodded as he handed back the research papers to the farmer. Jane took it and placed it back on her desk. She then made sure to lock the door of her cottage. _We'll start today's lesson as soon as we get back._ She added as she limped towards Sebastian who was patiently waiting for her.

"…So what's the reason you didn't sleep last night, anyway?" Sebastian asked as the he and Jane walked eastwards on the path that lead to the Pelican town. Jane jokingly glared at him as if she told him to get a hint. "Wait, did you… translate that entire thing to English just so that I can read it?!" He exclaimed in disbelief. Jane nodded.

 _That paper was in Korean._ Jane typed.

"I… I get it, but… how long did it take for you to make it?" Sebastian asked. Jane showed him 2 fingers. "Days? Months? Weeks?"

 _Months of research. It took me eight hours to translate that whole thing!_

"Jane…ugh. Jane, I'm actually amazed of how determined you are in things that you… love? Say, did you like what you were studying?"

 _To be honest, I decided to go for biochemistry because it was the easiest and my parents nagged me to go to the SKY universities._

"…SKY?"

 _It's the three greatest universities of Korea: Yonsei, Korea and Seoul._

"Oh, I see. Anyway, we're almost here. Jesus, that bustling of people bothers me every time. Alright, let's go meet everyone." Sebastian remarked as the two approached Pelican Town. The town square was covered with a white carpet the resembled the snow that was here before. There were baskets filled with decorated eggs under lampposts, trees and even between doors of houses. Vincent and Jas were running around chasing each other while Penny Anderson, the local teacher, watched over them with Maru beside her. Sam and Abigail were sitting on one of the tables laid down beside Harvey's clinic. The longest ones housed the food made by Gus which included various types of foods correlated to eggs. However, Pam, Penny's mother, seemed to be doing something to the raspberry punch. Shoving the curiosity away, Jane focused on Sam and Abigail who turned their attention to the two as they munched away on their food.

"Hey, guys!" Abigail chirped as she continued chewing on her food. Jane gave a big smile as she waved her back. The purple-haired girl scanned the clothes of the farmer and gave a gasp. "Oh my god, Jane! You look so adorable!" She then turned to Sam whose eyes were glued to Jane, blushing. "Aww, you have fans!" Jane blushed in response.

"Shut up, Abigail." Sebastian grunted as Jane's cheeks heated up.

"AWW, she's so cute when she blushes!"

"What does that have to do with us?" Sam asked.

"Well, you two boys obviously are in love with Jane! Boy, it's a love triangle that every stereotypical girl teen movie has!" Abigail remarked, howling in laughter as the two boys looked away in embarrassment. She took a look at Jane to find the farmer covering her face with her hands trying to hide her blush and laughter. She slowly started to scoot over to Sebastian as he shook his head trying to get rid of what he just heard from Abigail. "Seb, she likes you!" Abigail giggled. Jane bounced around without stability while covering her face. She started to feel the surge inside her body.

'Stop it!' Jane tried to speak, but the words became stuck in her throat, only giving out inaudible noises.

"You heard her, Abby! Stop!" Sebastian added. Jane was surprised. How did this boy know what she was trying to say? "Well, looks like the occultist has been burned for witchcraft. Alright, Jane. Let's go get some food before they take our seats as leg support." He said to the farmer as he escorted her to the food. When the two were out of audible range, Abigail turned to Sam, who had just finished his egg goulash.

"She likes him, Sam!" Abigail whispered.

"Really? How so?" Sam asked.

"Well, they keep blushing at each other! They look so perfect! How can you not see that?"

"I mostly get to see Jane during our Saloon nights during Friday!"

"Whatever. I ship them, and that will never change! You wait and see!" Abigail giggled as she took a bite out from her hard-boiled egg.

Abigail gave a funny look at Jane as she arrived to the table with a plate full of deviled eggs and a bowl of egg goulash. "What's with that look?" Sebastian glared at the purple-haired girl as she giggled. She didn't say a word, making Sebastian grunt and try to pull out his electronic cigarette. Jane, noticing this, immediately gave him a glare of denial, making Sebastian nod and lower it back into his pocket. Giving a nod, she grabbed her spoon and took a taste of her goulash. The red liquid combined with the egg pieces flowed through her throat and belly, giving her a warm sensation. Her attention was all at the food. The conversation that was going on between her old friends became silent as Jane took bite to bite on her food. Her binge consumption seemed to have come to an end when Sam patted her on her shoulder.

"Jane? JANE?!" Sam exclaimed, pulling the farmer back to reality. She looked around with a face that told her friend that she was trying to ask what happened.

"You were eating as if you were a member of Epic Meal Time!" Abigail remarked. Jane looked down to see that she had already emptied her plates. Seeing her current situation, she gave a smiling shrug.

 _Well, I eat what I eat._ Jane typed. Sebastian chuckled. _And if you stop me, you're next!_ Abigail howled with laughter.

"Okay, so… Jane, did Seb tell you about what happened to our Town after you left?" Abigail asked.

"…or he became the town's number one douche again?" Sam added. Sebastian glared at him with fire in his eyes. Jane nodded, signaling that Sebastian indeed explained what happened. "Well, looks like he wasn't such a douche that I thought he would be! At least less than Alex…"

 _Who's Alex?_

"Alex is that jock over there." Sam replied, pointing at a tall brown-haired boy with a green jacket that seemed to look like a high school jersey. He had slightly dark skin and brown eyes, making Jane speculate one of his ancestors or relatives used to live in the Arabian Peninsula. He was talking to Haley, the very girl who mocked Jane's disabilities. It was as if she was a totem of her past bullies. "He always spits on us. I mean, what the hell is wrong with him and Haley, anyway?" Sam added. Jane looked back to him and gave a shrug.

"Sam, you gone way off topic!" Abigail remarked.

"Okay, I get it! Alright, now for the million dollar question! How was Korea?" Jane frowned when Sam asked the question. "…D… did I say something wrong?" Jane shook her head. In reality, Jane would have to write an entire paragraph to satisfy his question and her hand was already throbbing by all the typing she did back at her cottage. "Well, sorry. I'll ask later then."

"Sam, I want to congratulate you for saying something right for once in your life!" Sebastian said. Sam gave a smirk as he flipped him off. Just as the conversation came smoothly, a young woman who probably just entered her twenties with short red hair and a yellow dress came up to the group and sat on a chair next to Sam.

 _Who's that?_ Jane asked Sebastian.

"Ugh, I never knew this day would come. She's Penny, Sam's girlfriend." Sebastian replied.

"Hey, what's wrong? Jealousy got you?" Sam mockingly asked.

"It's not good to have a grudge about something you don't have, Mr. Callahan." Penny added.

"Ugh, I think that was some kind of involuntary mockery…" Sebastian said to himself.

"It's not. Don't worry." Penny assured. She then turned to Jane. "So you are the new farmer? It's nice to meet you!" Jane gave a bow of respect. "I couldn't see you during your first day here because I was working in my trailer."

"It's a long story." Sebastian whispered to Jane's ear. It made Jane's mind be surrounded with questions. She tried to unlock her phone, but her shaky hands prevented her from tapping the correct buttons. Penny, seeing this, signaled her to stop.

"Ms. Park, please look at me!" Penny called. Jane raised her head to find Penny doing… sign language?

 _I can do it too._

Jane couldn't be happier. If it weren't for her prosthetics, she would have launched herself to the woman and embraced her, but since she couldn't do that, she gave a big smile. _From whom did you learn it from?_

"Harvey." Penny simply replied.

 _This is the best day of my life!_ Jane signaled. Penny giggled. _So, you're this guy's girlfriend, right?_ She asked, pointing at Sam.

"Mhm!" Penny responded, showing a black ring on her right index finger. Sam, seeing this, showed his black ring. "They're couple rings!"

 _They're so common in my country! I never expected them to be used here!_ Jane signaled. The conversation lasted for about ten minutes until Abigail started to feel uneasy.

"Uh… I don't know what you two are talking about? Still, the annual egg hunt is about to begin! Whoever wants to be annihilated by me, step right up!" Abigail said as she left her seat.

"I'm going to take her down." Sam said, leaving his seat to follow the purple-haired girl. Penny left her seat to return to the two children who were now walking towards the center of the town square. There were now only Jane and Sebastian left on the table.

 _What happens now?_ Jane typed on her phone.

"Well, basically, the contestants will be given one minute to find decorated eggs that Hitlewis scattered around. Winner wins money. It's just like what you do at elementary school, except the fact that this is Abigail's victory parade." Sebastian replied. Lewis was now walking towards the contestants: Abigail, Sam, Vincent and Jas.

 _Only four?_

"Well, yeah. They're the youngest people here, except the fact that you're the youngest among the teenagers. Looks like it's about to begin."

"Alright, contestants! Are you ready for 2019 Egg Hunt?!" Lewis asked. Vincent and Jas shouted in reply as they bounced around. "Now now, kids! You should save up your energy for the hunt!" The mayor added. Jane giggled by how adorable the two children were. "Anyway, are you all ready? Get set… Timer set… GO!"

"…this beginning Abigail's parade." Sebastian whispered. The contestants were off. Abigail, unlike the other contestants, felt relaxed and went on a fast pace. Sam followed around Vincent as the younger of the Arvidel brothers ran around Willow Lane trying to search for eggs. Jas hopped around with her basket as she picked up two near the Mayor's manor. As Jane focused her attention back to Abigail, she was surprised to see her basket already filled with six eggs and barely forty seconds had passed. Fifteen seconds. The faces of the contestants started to become tense. Sam's smile was now gone. He started to pick up his pace as he picked up two more eggs from the graveyard. Ten seconds remaining. Jas dropped her egg basket, cracking two eggs in the process. Despite crying, she picked the eggs and put them into the basket. Five seconds remaining. Abigail was now walking back to the town square. She gave Jane a grin as she stopped. Jane waved back.

"Time's up, contestants!" Lewis exclaimed followed by a whistle. The four contestants gathered up back to the town square. Each of the baskets were filled with eggs. "My, that's a lot of eggs you all have collected! However! There can only be one winner! Now, let us count them!" He added as he started off with Sam's basket. He picked up the eggs one by one as he counted. "…three, four… four for Sam! Now for Vincent!" He counted on the child's basket. "…five! That's five for Vincent!" Lewis continued counting the eggs of Jas. Seven. It was now Sebastian's expected winner: Abigail. Lewis's eyes opened wide due to the sheer amount of eggs. Focusing, he continued to count her eggs. "…six, seven, eight… EIGHT! Once again, Abigail wins the Egg Hunt this year!" Abigail, hearing this, cheered loudly as she bounced around in glee. She received her prize as Sebastian approached Jane once again.

"See? I told you it's her victory parade." He whispered. Jane gave a shrug.

"Alright, that does it for this year's Egg Festival! Thank you all for coming! Please pick up what you've left behind before you depart!" Lewis exclaimed as the townspeople clapped. Just as Sebastian was about to stand up Jane tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

 _Don't forget about today's tutoring!_ She typed.

"Ugh, right. Sorry. Let's go after we clean up." Sebastian replied as he picked up his plastic plates and cup.

It was the second day of Sebastian's tutoring. Jane had prepared what her friend would learn today. She checked if he did his homework by asking him what each alphabet was in sign language. Sebastian managed to get A to H correct until he made a mistake on 'I' as he made the rock-and-roll symbol again, making Jane blush again. "Jane, there is something wrong, is there?" Sebastian asked with worry. Jane shook her head. "Are you sure?" Jane covered her face and nodded. "O…kay. Alright then. Let me get that right…" Sebastian continued as he made a light fist and pointed out his pinky. Jane gave a big smile, signaling that he was correct. Sebastian acted like a triumphant superhero. Jane's eyes sparkled as if she told him to continue. Shrugging, he proceeded to continue to make the sign language despite making some mistakes at 'Q' and 'T'. Eventually, however, he managed to get to Z. Jane clapped her hands with glee.

 _You did it! You did your homework!_ She typed as she crashed into him. _Okay, let's start with today's lesson! Turn to page 12_. Sebastian nodded as he obeyed his friend. Just as Jane was about to start tutoring, her computer gave a ring.

"Jane, isn't that the Skype ringtone?" Sebastian asked. Indeed, the farmer's computer screen displayed the chatting program with a family photo of Jane on it. Gasping, Jane hurried to her computer and accepted the call.

"Hello? Haneul? Can you hear us?" The people on the video asked. They were Jane's parents. Jane gave a nod after setting up the camera. "That's great! How is life at your grandfather's farm? Isn't it difficult for you?" She shook her head. "Are the people kind? Did you make friends?" Jane's father asked.

 _Dad, the people here are the nicest people in the world! I forgot to tell you that I had friends here before!_ Jane signaled. She turned her head to Sebastian to find him confused. Her parents were speaking to her in Korean and she was replying to them through sign language, the two languages that raven-haired boy didn't know at all. Her attention was locked back to the screen when her mother asked her a question.

"Jane's is there something wrong? Is there someone over there?" Jane nodded. "It better not be a boy!" Her father jokingly added. Giggling, Jane signaled Sebastian to move towards the screen.

"Ugh, do I have to?" Sebastian asked. Jane gave a pout and whined as if she was begging him to come. "Alright, fine." He surrendered as he picked up his chair and walked to where the computer was. He sat down next to Jane. "Uh… hello, Mr. and Mrs. Park. Ugh, this is awkward…" Sebastian greeted his friend's parents.

"Uh… hello!" Jane's mother replied with a heavy Korean accent.

 _She's not good at English. Watch my dad, though._ Jane typed on a notepad on the computer.

"So, are you Jane's uh… namjachin… I mean, what was it… boyfriend?" Mother jokingly asked.

"What? NO! She's just a friend!" Sebastian panicked, blushing. Jane, hearing what her mother said, covered her face in embarrassment. She too was blushing.

 _Mom, it's embarrassing! We're just friends!_

"I know, Haneul. Anyway, would you like to speak to your dad?" Jane nodded. "Okay! Honey?"

"Yes, dear?" A masculine voice replied in Korean.

"It's Haneul!"

"Really? I'm on my way!" After a short pause, Jane's father sat down next to the screen. "Huh? You have a friend over?" He asked her daughter in English. Jane nodded in response. "Well, if it isn't Haneul's boyfriend!" he jokingly added. Jane squealed with embarrassment flooding her every orifice. Sebastian looked away while covering his face with his left hand. "Just kidding, kids! Anyway, who are you, Mr. anime boy?" Father asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm Sebastian Callahan. I'm this woman's helper. It's nice to meet you, sir." Sebastian replied.

"Oh, that was anticlimactic. Anyway, it's nice to see that my daughter has already made friends. Please be good to Jane, alright?"

"I'm counting on you, Sebastian. Anyway, are you the only friend that Jane has?"

"Well, no. She made friends with my friends. They're good people, but annoying at the same time."

"Hmm, just like Minsoo."

"Mr. Park, may I ask who that is?"

 _He's my brother._ Jane typed. Sebastian nodded.

"He's at his last day at military service. He should return tomorrow noon." Jane's eyes opened wide. Minsoo was Jane's most favorite person of her family. They shared similar interests in games and YouTube channels. He was the first person to learn sign language from her family and whenever Jane needed a shoulder to cry on, Minsoo would be it. This young man was three years older than Jane and was probably brawn of the Park family. He was quite popular among his school despite not being good at his classes. Now that he will finish his conscription tomorrow, Jane's heart skipped a beat. "We were supposed to send him there to help Haneul, but since you are here, Sebastian, I guess she will be fine!"

"Well, thank you sir!" Sebastian replied. Jane nodded at her father's words.

"Speaking of which, Haneul, your Hyunsoo and Jiwoo have been admitted to Yonsei University while Minseo was admitted to KAIST! You could have been with those two if you stayed here, you know?" Jane's father added.

 _Dad, I like it here. I hated how people there disgusted people with disabilities!_ Jane signaled.

"I know, Haneul. I hope you are happy where you are. Well, what are you two doing?"

"Jane's teaching me sign language, Mr. Park." Sebastian replied.

"Oh, really? That's good to hear! It's one step towards earning each other's heart! Way to go, you two!" Jane once again covered her face in embarrassment while Sebastian tried his best to hide his blush as he chuckled away. "Just kidding, you two. Haneul, how far did he go?"

 _He's currently finished the sign alphabet. He's a pretty good learner!_ Jane replied.

"Oh-hoh! A fast learner, eh? That's good. What does he do for a living?"

 _He's a freelancer programmer._

"Oh, that's what Minsoo wants to do right now! I remember him confining himself in his room while he downloaded C# and tried to make his own videogame."

"Videogame? Did he succeed?" Sebastian asked with utmost curiosity.

"Well, he kind of did, Sebastian. He used something called a Unity 3D. I think it's some kind of game engine. He made me test it only to crash as soon as I shot a gun." Sebastian, hearing this, howled in laughter.

After a long conversation with Jane's parents, the two young people waved them goodbye and continued with Sebastian's tutoring. He learned basic introduction in sign language. Despite having technical issues on learning more sophisticated signs, he managed to satisfy Jane as he successfully introduced himself in sign language including his identity, which was two gun-signs pointing at his chin in which Jane obviously squealed in happiness about. _Now, time for your homework! You have a week before your next lesson, correct?_ Jane asked.

"Well, yeah. I still have to come here to help on your farm, you know?" Sebastian replied.

 _Here's your homework. I want you to introduce yourself by stating your name and your age._

"Really? That's a bit short for a weekly homework." Just as Sebastian finished his sentence, Jane pulled out the very files that she received at day. "Oh, darn. Not that."

 _Your second homework is to read this research paper and state three harmful effects of Electronic Cigarettes. I'll make you do something embarrassing if you fail, okay?_

"Ugh, alright, Jane." Sebastian complied as he took a look at his phone. It was already 9 o'clock at night. His mother would be worried. "Well, today was fun. See you tomorrow, Jane!" Jane waved him goodbye with an adorable smile as she saw her friend close the door behind him.


	11. CHAPTER 10: Saloon (Sebastian)

**CHAPTER 10: SALOON (SEBASTIAN)**

Jane's second week in Stardew Valley went on as clear as day with Sebastian helping her in the farm. With the help of his mother Robin, the two managed to clear some more land for crops as Jane started to feel endeavoring. Jane thought that it would be a good idea to plant some strawberries that she had bought in the form of seeds during the Egg Festival. In the end, the fifty square meters of the cleared land was conquered by strawberries, which Jane felt happy about according to Sebastian. During the week, the raven-haired boy concentrated on his programming work whenever he returned from farming. Despite his new routine hindering his work, he didn't want to upset Jane after the incident two weeks ago. Whenever it was lunchtime, he would walk upstairs, get some food, go back downstairs and along with programming, he would practice Jane's homework. Tomorrow will be Friday, the day Sebastian would go to the Stardrop Saloon to hang out with his friends in the evening. Not only that, it will also be the day when Jane would check on his homework. Luckily, Sebastian had been practicing his sign language with the help of video tutorial he had found in the internet. _My name is S.E.B.A.S.T.I.A.N. I am 20 years old._ Sebastian thought to himself as he spat it out through his hands. He repeated it until he could now do it without the aid of neither the internet nor his notebook. After a few more times, he felt content. He checked the clock to find that it was 11 o'clock at night. "Time to go to bed, I guess." Sebastian said to himself as he switched off his computer after saving his work. He climbed into his bed with his phone on his hand. He watched some 'Let's Play's of Yandere Simulator in pitch darkness of his room. Just as his brain craved for some smoke, Sebastian fumbled for his electronic cigarette on his bedside table. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

Oh no. The research documents! Panicking, Sebastian turned on the room lights and hurried back to his desk. He fumbled through his pile of work papers until he found a thick yellow file. _The Side Effects of Electric Cigarettes by Haneul Park_. As he looked through the documents, Sebastian started to learn about this multiple disturbing diseases confirmed to be caused by electric smoking such as the Popcorn Lung Syndrome. That didn't matter now. He had to memorize the entire document as his world turned darker and darker.

 _*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Sebastian bolted up from sleep to find that he was still on his desk. Grunting, Sebastian stood up from his chair to wash up. Seeing that there was little to no time, he decided to skip breakfast. He packed his notebook and Jane's research documents and bolted down the mountain. His memory of the research was blurry. As he arrived at the doorsteps of Jane's house, Sebastian knocked on the door to have it immediately open. Jane was already on her work clothes. She gave a wave of greetings. "Hey." Sebastian greeted back. Suddenly, a growl. It was obvious. It was from Sebastian's empty stomach.

 _Hungry?_ Jane asked.

"Ugh… yeah. I woke up late, you know." Sebastian replied. Jane jokingly clicked her tongue. She let the raven-haired boy in the cottage. The interior was much cleaner that before as books and action figures were now organized. There was a portable gas burner and a microwave on the table. The old CRT TV that used to be here was now sold to robin. Sebastian saw a fishing rod next to the bed, the one which Jane acquired during her second day at the Valley from Willy Drake, the local fisherman. The cottage gave a aroma that made Sebastian's stomach race. Just then, the microwave gave a beep. Jane limped towards it and opened it to take out a steaming plate of sliced pizza. "It's okay, Jane I'll hold on until lunch at the Saloon." Sebastian said when she offered the slice. With a worried face, Jane consumed the food. Just as she was about to take the plate outside to wash, she gave a jolt. She picked her phone up and started typing.

 _One second! I know something I can make for you!_ The screen said.

"Hey, I said I'm okay! No, really!" Sebastian tried to assure the girl, but it was too late. Jane had already opened her tiny freezer and pulled out the largest fish she had caught. She limped towards her desk and pulled out an army knife. 'Where the hell did she get all that?!' The raven-haired boy thought as he froze in place as Jane proceeded to decapitate the fish and started to gut it skillfully. As Jane finished deboning a fillet of the said fish, she started to cut it into thin slices, making Sebastian know what she was making: sashimi. His heart skipped a beat as Jane handed him a plate full of the food with rosy cheeks. When he took the plate from her and set it on the table, Jane typed on her phone and showed the screen to him.

 _I don't have soy sauce. I hope you enjoy it._

"Jane, this is my favorite dish of all time!" Sebastian assured as he picked up a pair of chopsticks and took a bite on a slice. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. It made him shed a tear. "It… it's so good. Why?" He asked himself. Hearing this, Jane's blush started to intensify as she put the remainder of the fish back into the freezer. Sebastian was now ravaging his first meal of the day when Jane turned on 'Cheer Up' by TWICE on her phone. When he was done, Sebastian helped the farmer friend take her tools and headed out to start today's work.

"…Anyway, how did you get that army knife?" Sebastian asked as he helped Jane water the last of her crops.

 _My brother gave me as a gift for my fifteenth birthday. You don't want to know how much he played Battlefield back then!_ Jan replied, giggling.

"Wow, your brother sounds awesome! I wish I could have an elder brother like you." Sebastian replied as the two proceeded to walk back into the cottage. Jane gave a shrug as she opened the door to let herself and Sebastian inside.

 _I'm going to take a shower. Can you wait?_

"Sure! I'll be doing… something." Sebastian replied, avoiding eye contact. Smiling, Jane limped towards her closet, acquired some clothes and went into the bathroom. As soon as he heard the door lock, Sebastian immediately opened his file and started memorizing the content. He had no problem remembering the Popcorn Lung Syndrome and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, but he just couldn't get the third one in his head. Just as he was struggling to memorize, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned his head to find Jane with dripping wet hair wearing a white T-shirt and short trainers. "Oh, you're done already?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded with her special cute smile. 'I'm sure she's doing that on purpose…' he thought to himself. He scanned the farmer to find books in her arm.

 _Ready for class?_ Jane asked. Seeing the screen, Sebastian swallowed in despair. He nodded anyway. Smiling, Jane placed her books down on the table and limped towards her chair. _Homework?_ Jane wrote on her notebook. Uh oh. Accepting his face, he raised his hands and waved them around.

 _My name is…_ Okay, now for his name. _S.E.B.A.S.T.I.A.N._ Perfect. Let's continue. _I am 20 years old._ Seeing this, Jane gave the loudest squeal Sebastian has ever heard from her. Blushing, he gave Jane a high five, beginning today's lecture.

Today's lecture was a bit difficult. Jane tried to teach him thirty basic vocabulary words in sign language, mostly verbs. This make Sebastian remind himself of his school days as his world started to turn dark. He later found himself still on Jane's table. The farmer had shaken him awake. He gave a groan as he lifted his head to find Jane giggling out of control. "Wh… what's wrong?" he asked. Jane simply shook her head, covering her mouth. Her eyes. Signaled that she was still laughing. "No, seriously, Jane. What's happening?"

 _You looked so cute when you were sleeping!_ Jane wrote on Sebastian's notebook. Seeing this, the raven-haired boy looked away, trying to hide his blush.

"Lies." Sebastian simply replied. Pouting, Jane gave a whimper. Suddenly, she started writing something on his notebook. The content shocked Sebastian.

 _Homework?_ Oh no. She remembered it. Giving a sigh, Sebastian opened his mouth.

"Firstly, Popcorn Lung Syndrome. The E-Cig's liquid that's used to smoke contains diacetyl, the same chemical used to make the butter flavoring for popcorn. This chemical can cause the said disease that induces…" Sebastian proceeded to correctly say the symptoms and continued with the second side effect: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. After that, he tried to start the third… uh oh. He couldn't remember.

 _You didn't do you homework, didn't you?_ Jane wrote. Shaking, Sebastian nodded. For some reason, however Jane howled with laughter. In fact, she had been giggling for the whole time. _Well, you've already received your punishment!_

"What do you mean?"

 _I'll forgive you. At least you did some of it. If you didn't, I would have ordered you to hand in your E-Cig, but I guess not._ Seeing this, Sebastian shrugged.

"Hey, uh… you wanna go to the Saloon this evening? Everybody's coming." Sebastian asked. Jane nodded in response, still giggling. "It's 3 o'clock right now, so… should I stay her for a while or what?" Jane nodded. "Great, then! So, what should we do?" hearing this, the farmer limped towards her TV and powered up her Xbox. She started up Rocket League. Smiling, Sebastian joined as Jane handed him a controller.

Three hours passed as if it was like a minute. Sebastian told Jane that it was time to go, but as soon as the farmer unlocked her eyes from the game to face him, she burst into laughter. 'Okay, something's wrong.' Sebastian thought as he helped Jane get up and out of Agria Farm. The walk lasted ten minutes as usual, draining Jane of stamina. As soon as the two entered the Stardrop Saloon, the heard bustling conversations from multiple people, such as Leah Kjellsten and Elliott Cromsworth sitting on the table as they clinked their glasses of wine for a toast. Sebastian escorted Jane to the leisure room where their friends were while people that had the liberty to face him laughed. When the two entered the room, Sam and Abigail stopped what they were doing and waved at the two. "Hey, Seb…" Abigail tried to greet, but burst into laughter. Finding out what was going on; Sam followed her as his body collapsed on the pool table. "Seb, you look so beautiful!" Abigail laughed.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sebastian asked.

"Bro, didn't you see the mirror?" Sam asked back, unable to control his laughter. Confused, the raven-haired boy unlocked his phone and turned on the camera, only to be horrified. Jane had done make up with deep blue mascara, pink powder cheeks and pencil marker cat whiskers on his face.

"Really, Jane?" Sebastian exclaimed. Jane couldn't help but howl with laughter. "Very funny, guys." Abigail and Sam started to laugh even harder as the purple-haired girl fell from the couch and punched the carper. "Ugh, screw you guys. I'm going to wash my face." He said as he flipped the three off, wore his hood over his head and walked to the bathroom. Standing next to the sink, Sebastian washed his face over and over until there was no trace of makeup remaining. He then returned to the leisure room to find Jane taking selfies with Abigail on the couch. He walked to the pool table to find Sam already preparing for a game. "I have some questions. A lot." He said.

"Speak up!" Sam replied, throwing his friend a pool stick.

"Did she tell you what happened? Did you ask?"

"Well, apparently, you slept during her class." Sam replied, taking his first shot.

"Uh-huh?"

"Apparently, you weren't a good student. As a punishment for not doing your homework…" Sebastian stopped Sam there. He knew where this was going and found his answer. "Got it?"

"…Yes." Sebastian grunted as he took his shot. Just as the pool game came to an end with the raven-haired boy standing as the victor once again, the two boys heard the two girls fighting in the videogame they were laying. They came over to see what was going on.

"I… I was reloading!" Abigail shouted. As soon as her character respawned, Sebastian saw Jane's side of the screen firing a shot at Abigail's head, killing her character instantly. "Spawn Killing? That's so cheesy! Not to mention that you were camping!" hearing this, Jane stuck her tongue out, gloating her purple-haired friend. "Oh yeah?! I'll show you one day! I'm sure I'm better than you in StarCraft II!" hearing this, the eyes of the two boys widened.

"Whoa, Abby! You've just triggered a Korean!" Sam said.

"So?! I've been playing in the Korean server for three months!"

"Is that why your win-to-lose ratio is so low?" Sebastian asked, snickering.

"Shut up!" Abigail shouted. Hearing this, Jane's smile disappeared. "Oh, sorry."

"See what you've done to her?" Sam asked.

"It doesn't matter! Jane, I challenge you in a match… tomorrow! I'll bring my laptop to your farm! You just see your master control you!"

"I'm in for the match!" said Sam. And so, the gang continued what they were doing until it was time to go.

As Sebastian was escorting Jane back to her farm, he peeked over at her phone to find her talking to a group in Facebook Messenger.

 _-Haneul Park:_ _여기_ _너무_ _좋은데_ _? (It's so good here!)_

 _-Minseo Lee:_ _설마_ _우릴_ _버린건_ _아니지_ _? (Did you abandon us?)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _(LOL)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _아니야_ _!_ _ㅋ_ _(No! LOL)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _친구는_ _사귀였어_ _? (Made any friends?)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _ㅇㅇ_ _(Yup)_

Jane proceeded to upload a photo of herself with Abigail. It was cute to Sebsatian.

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _헐_ _(Whoa)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _부럽지_ _? (Jealous?)_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _ㄴㄴ_ _(Nope)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _질투하네_ _~ (LOL he is!)_

 _-Minseo Lee:_ _근데_ _꽤_ _이쁘다_ _? (But she's kinda cute?)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _왜_ _?_ _사랑에_ _빠졌니_ _? (Why? You suddenly grew a crush on her?)_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _(LOL)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _농장은_ _어때_ _? (How's the farm?)_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _힘들지_ _않아_ _?_ _너_ _손_ _다리_ _없잖아_ _! (Isn't it tiresome? You don't have an arm and a leg!)_

 _-Haneul Park: -_ _도와주는_ _친구_ _있음_ _(I have a friend who helps me)_

 _-_ _마음씨_ _착한_ _애야_ _(A good friend.)_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _올_ _~ (Whoa)_

 _-Jiwoo bae:_ _올_ _~ (Whoa)_

 _-Minseo Lee: -_ _올_ _~ (Whoa)_

 _-_ _그_ _애_ _아냐_ _?_ _걔_ _이름_ _뭐냐_ _? (Is it her? What's her name?)_

 _-Haneul Park: -_ _아비게일이라고_ _오래_ _전_ _친구야_ _(She's Abigail, my old friend)_

 _-_ _그리고_ _ㄴㄴ_ _(And no.)_

 _-_ _기다려_ _(Wait)_

Suddenly, Jane proceeded to turn on her camera and swieftly take a picture of herself with Sebastian. "H…hey!" He yelled, but it was too late. Jane had posted it on the chat. Despite unable to understand the language of the chat, Sebastian knew what was going on. Or, at least get the hint.

 _-Haneul Park has posted a photo._

 _-Haneul Park:_ _얘야_ _(It's him.)_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim:_ _오_ _~ (Whoa~)_

 _-_ _남친각_ _? (Future boyfriend?)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _아니_ _! (NO!)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _(LOL)_

 _-Minseo Lee:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _(LOL)_

 _-_ _이름_ _뭐야_ _? (What's his name?)_

 _-Haneul Park:_ _세바스찬_ _! (Sebastian!)_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _이름도_ _좋고_ _남친각이네_ _! (What a nice name… for a future boyfriend!)_

Just as the duo reached the farm, Sebastian tapped Jane back to reality. After waving her goodbye, he walked back to the Carpenter's Shop while thinking about what happened today.


	12. CHAPTER 11: Dual (Jane)

**CHAPTER 11: DUAL (JANE)**

 _9-year old Jane and her 12-year old brother Minsoo along with their uncle dismounted the train in Busan Station. "Stick close to me." Uncle said as Jane and Minsoo followed him out of the station. The girl took a glance at her brother's watch. 10:14PM 14_ _th_ _of Summer 2010._

 _'where are we going?' Jane asked with her hands when Minsoo turned his head to her._

 _"You'll see. Come on, our bus is coming." Minsoo replied as a blue bus stopped near the station and opened its doors. The siblings followed their uncle in and placed their transportation cards on the receiver, giving two beeps. The bus lurched forward as jane took her seat._

 _'Take a seat!' Jane signaled her brother, who was standing next to her._

 _"It's okay, Haneul. I can hold on." MInsoo assured. Time seemed to pass when the bus stopped at four stations._

 _"This stop is: Busan Kintex. Busan Kintex. Please make sure to place your card on the receiver properly before you leave." The computerized voice said through the speaker of the bus._

 _"That's out stop. Let's go." Minsoo said. Jane immediately left her seat and exited the bus after her brother, making sure to permit the card receiver to read her card. "Here we are." Minsoo said as he held her sister's shoulder. The Kintex building had numerous banners of videogames such as the newly released sequel of StarCraft. "Do you like it?" Minsoo asked Jane._

 _'I love it!' Jane replied skipping with joy. She then hugged her brother and uncle._

 _"Glad you do. Come on, let's go have some fun!"_

 _"I'll leave you two by yourselves from here, okay?" Their uncle said before walking away._

Jane suddenly woke up to begin another day. She knew that Abigail would storm into her house today for a StarCraft dual. Knowing that she accepted the purple-haired girl's challenge, she quickly took a shower and dressed up on her usual work clothes. She took out a can of ham from her tiny refrigerator along with a bowl of instant rice. She prepared her buttered frying pan on the gas burner and placed the rice in the microwave. As soon as this was done, she powered her computer on. Her desktop was well organized with each file representing the Genre of the games: Real-Time Strategy, FTS and MMO-Action. She turned on and logged in just as her microwave beeped. The farmer pulled out the now steaming hot plastic bowl of rice and started cutting the canned ham. When she was in the middle of cooking her breakfast, the door gave three knocks. Jane lowered the fire and limped towards the door to find Sebastian waiting behind it. "Hey, what's with the aroma? Is it your breakfast?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded. "Oh, I see.

 _What's wrong?_ Jane typed.

"Nah, it's nothing. Go ahead!" Sebastian replied. Jane let her raven-haired friend in and continued with the cooking. Once done, she noticed that Sebastian's eyes were glued to the recently cooked ham. She knew that he wanted some. She dropped her spoon and started typing on her phone.

 _You didn't eat breakfast, didn't you?_ Seeing this, Sebastian gave a jolt of surprise.

"N…no, it's okay! I…uh…" Sebastian paused. "…Yeah, I didn't. I woke up late." Jane gave a giggle and signaled that it was okay as she stood up from her seat. She opened her refrigerator and pulled out another bowl of instant rice and threw it in the microwave. As she waiting while staring at Sebastian, she gave her signature attack: the disarming smile. For Jane, making Sebastian blush could never get old. Just then, the microwave gave a beep, signaling that Sebastian's rice was ready. She took it out and handed it to the raven-haired boy. "Ow, it's hot!" Sebastian exclaimed as he hastily placed down his hot plastic bowl on the table. Jane handed him a spoon, keeping her signature smile. "Yeah, thanks." Sebastian said as he opened the seal above the bown to reveal its steaming white rice.

 _You don't know how to eat it, don't you?'_ Jane typed.

"Nah, I think I remember Abigail eating instant fried rice like you you're doing." Sebastian replied as he dug into the rice with his spoon.

"That was a delicious meal, I'll have to admit!" Sebastian remarked as he finished emptying his plastic bowl. Jane gave a blush as she was cleaning the frying pan. She didn't know why she would blush whenever this raven0haired boy would compliment her. "So, tell me when you're ready to work, okay?" Jane nodded. As she made sure that there was no more traces of grease left on the pan, Jane truned to Sebastian to find him staring at her computer monitor, which was showing the main menu of StarCraft II. "You seem to have prepared a lot for Abigail's challenge." Sebastian remarked. Placing the pan on the drying rack, Jane limped over to her phone and typed her response.

 _I don't like disappointing people._

"Well, I guess. Abigail's a tenacious girl, if you ask me." Seabstian added. "Say, are you done?" Jane nodded. "Alright, then. Sebastian said as he handed her a watering can as he escorted her out of the cottage. The weather was slightly hot today despite the sun not being high up in the sky. Jane observed her small farm where she grows a multitude of crops. Her patch of tilled soil where her strawberries were growing captured her eyes the most. Other than that, there were small fields of parsnips, cauliflower and a medium sized potato field just in front of the cottage. Jane turned to Sebastian, who was observing the farmland. When Jane involuntarily scooted closer to him, the raven-haried boy noticed her movements and turned his head to her, making Jane startle. "Ready to start the day?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded as she limped down the stairs. Jane found that her potatoes were ready whenshe walked to them, preparing to water. She dropped her basket and struggled to kneel down as her stiff prosthetic leg prevented her from doing so. As she gave a sigh of submission, she felt Sebastian's hand rest on her shoulder. "Let me help you." He said as he knelt down and started rooting the potatoes from the soil with a sickle. When he rooted out the last potato plant and dumped it in the basket, Jane couldn't help but blush. She proceeded to water her crops once he was done. As she was halfway done with her strawberry field, Sebastian approached her, making her type on her phone.

 _What's Abigail's strategy?_

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked back.

 _What faction does she play the most? How does she play?_ Pausing, Sebastian thought for a while.

"Oh, I think I know what you're trying to ask." He said as he held the basket of potatoes tightly. "Hmm… she plays as the Zerg… very often. I remember her being very dependent on rushing to win the game. We are victims of it, you know." Jane giggled in response as she continued watering her strawberry saplings. "I've only survived her rush once. That was when I found that she likes using Ravagers." Jane nodded ass he finished watering.

 _I'll see what I can do. I do have some strategies._

"Good luck, Jane. Wait; are those who I think it is?" Sebastian said as he pointed at the two figures walking in the small gate of Agria farm. Jane instantly knew who they were as one of them pointed at the duo. It could be no other than Abigail and Sam. They were making fun of her and Sebastian.

"Sam, what did I say? This is why I ship them!" Abigail giggled.

"I see!" Sam replied loudly.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Sebastian shouted.

"Seb, you're asking the obvious!" Sam replied. Blushing, Jane hid her face. "See?"

"Wha…" Sebastian hesitated as he took a glance at the farmer. "SHUT UP!" He shouted as his cheeks became rosy.

"Ah~ see? You're right, Abby!" Sam gloated.

"Jane, are you ready for my challenge?" Abigail called. Jane walked towards her to find that she was holding a laptop. Seeing this, Jane gave a shrug. "Of course you are, girl! Should I set it up?" Jane nodded as she opened her cottage door and let the two friends in.

"Jane, your cottage is nerdier than Seb's room!" Sam exclaimed. Still outside, Jane gave a shrug to Sebastian as both of their stomachs grumbled.

"I guess it's lunchtime. I have something for us. Mexican food. Lead the way." Sebastian said as the duo entered the cottage.

 _How long have you played this game?_ Jane asked through her phone as Abigail opened her laptop and powered it on.

"Three years." Abigail replied as her laptop screen showed the desktop. The purple-haired girl proceeded to log in to her account: Occulanta837. "You're in the Korean server, right?" Jane nodded as she limped towards her computer. Her game was on since morning. "How long you played? What's your account.. oh, never mind." Abigail said as she received a game request from Jane's account: FlyToTheSky. "Let's see… GRANDMASTERS?!" Abigail exclaimed. Hearing this, Sam and Sebastian huddled up to Abigail's laptop in amazement. The purple-haired girl was still in Gold League. "…How long have you been playing?" Jane pointed out eight fingers in response.

"Abby, I think this was a baaaaad idea." Sam suggested.

"W…what have I done?" Abigail stuttered. "No, it's too late for that! Jane, make a match now!" She said with determination. Shrugging, Jane created a match on a 2-player desert map. She chose to play as the Protoss while Abigail as the Zerg. During the loading screen, Jane observed as Abigail cracked her knuckles and Sam lean on her chair. Sebastian walked towards the farmer to lean on the soft chair of her.

"Good luck, Jane. Save us from Abby's evil." Sebastian said, making Jane giggle as she put her cat-eared headphones on. Soon enough, the game started. Jane's Probes automatically started harvesting minerals near her Nexus. Just as she started training another Probe, Jane typed on the chat.

 _-FlyToTheSky: gl_

 _-Occulanta837: gl hf sal sal pls_

 _-FlyToTheSky: No pak apk : )_

 _-Occulanta937: O_o_

As soon as the chat seemed to have ended, Jane's fingers started to pick up pace. Her clicking became faster along with the tapping of her keyboard. Seconds later, the cottage was filled with the sounds of keyboard tapping away like a Gatling gun, only slowing down what Jane observed her scouting Probe. "That was the fastest typing I've ever seen!" Sam's muffled voice said. Jane gave a sheepish smile as her Probe discovered Abigail's Zerg base. Her Spawning Pool was already being built. She quickly moved the camera back to her base to find her first Gateway along with two Zealots complete. If the words of Sebastian were true, she will need Adepts and a Mothership Core to quell off Abigail's Zergling rush. Thus, she gathered enough minerals to build another Nexus on an expansion and a Cybernetics Core. When this was done, Jane proceeded to train some Adepts and send another Probe to scout. Her fingers were now restless as she started to create more and more control groups for her units. Just then, a chat message from Abigail.

 _-Occulanta837: Prepare to lose!_

 _-FlyToTheSky: Sure._

Jane closed the chat as she finished upgrading her ground units' armor and constructed a Photon Cannon. Just then, Jane's scout Probe revealed a large group of Zerglings wandering around the creep infesting the terrain. She hid her Probe near a Xel'naga Watch Tower as it revealed the area around. Knowing that there may be little time, Jane picked up her place and started building a Robotics Bay and eventually a Stargate. She will need Oracles to make short work of Abigail's Zerglings. Just as Jane's Stargate finished training the first Oracle, Abigail's Zerglings started invading her base. Jane's eight Adepts killed off the lightly armored Zerglings while the Mothership Core shot the creatures down from above. Her now finished two Oracles chased down the remaining Zerglings as they started retreating. In the end, Jane purified Abigail's rushing force.

"I…I have other strategies!" Abigail whined. Just when Jane finished construction of a Fleet Beacon to build Carriers and Tempests, a group of roaches started attacking Jane's expansion. The farmer quickly converted her Gateways into Warp Gates to instantly summon Stalkers while she began training of Carriers. Despite the turmoil happening, Jane tried her best not to panic and picked off the roaches one by one as her first Carrier was completed. With it, she picked off the helpless Roaches as they retreated. When the coast was clear, Jane micromanaged her units until she now how five Carriers. She converted her Mothership Core into the powerful Mothership that can cloak allied units and sent it along with the fleet of Carriers to Abigail's base. As the fleet engaged with what looked like Abigail's main force which consisted of Mutalisks, Ravagers and a few Corruptors, Jane gave a nod as she ordered an attack. The Ravagers used its special ability on the Mothership, dealing severe damage. Little did the purple-haired girl know about the massive fleet Jane has brought with it. When the Mothership was destroyed, Abigail was horrified of how many Carriers and Adepts there were.

 _-Occulanta837: gg_

 _Occulanta837 has left the game!_

A large 'VICTORY' screen appeared before Jane. She removed her headphones and clapper her hands. She turned to Abigail to find the purple-haired girl burying her face on her laptop keyboard. "You… you did it!" Sam exclaimed.

"You saved us from her evil!" Sebastian added, giving his farmer friend a high five.

 _To be honest, she had pretty clever tactics_ Jane typed.

"I've never seen anyone use the keyboard that fast. It was like… watching those E-Sports tournaments on YouTube!" Sam remarked. Jane gave a smile in response.

"…How did I lose?" Abigail mumbled, drawing the attention of Sebastian, Sam and Jane. "No. I can't accept this defeat. There has got to be a way…"

"Abby, you do know that you're up against a Grandmaster, right?" Sebastian asked.

"I know, but still…" Abigail hesitated. Just then, she thought of an idea. "…OVERWATCH!"

 _Nope! Looks like it's classtime!_ Jane typed, giggling.

"Aww, no fair! What the hell!" Abigail pouted.

"Abby, Jane's right. I have class with her. Jane, my notebooks are in my house. So… should we do it there?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded in response.

 _You two, if you want to play here, bring your laptops, okay?_ Jane typed to Sam and Abigail.

"Sure!" Sam replied. Smiling, Jane was escorted by Sebastian out of the cottage and eventually up the mountain. "Oh, good luck, Seb! I know you can get her heart!"

"Shut up!" Sebastian shouted as he continued escorting Jane up the mountain.

When Jane and Sebastian returned from the Carpenter's Shop after a sign-language class, the farmer found Abigail and Sam huddled up in the computer. Little did they know that Abigail spied on them the whole time with Robin as the two women giggled about how adorable the duo looked. Jane limped her way to the computer to find that the two were watching a embarrassing video: Her fifteen-year old self playing along 'Megalovania' from Undertale with a violin. Jane quickly pressed Alt and F4 to close the video. "Why? It was so good!" Abigail remarked, but Jane shook her head with rosy cheeks. "Okay, now that the two lovebirds are here, let's play some Overwatch! I'm with Sam!" She added as she stood next to the blonde boy, leaving Sebastian and Jane no choice but to make a team together.

"…Fine." Sebastian sighed as he powered his laptop on. Just as Jane was about to turn on Overwatch in her computer, she received a Skype call from… her brother?

'Uh oh!' Jane thought. It was Minsoo. Not wanting to make him sad, Jane accepted the call after adjusting her camera.

"Hello? Haneul?" Minsoo called in Korean. With a big smile, Jane gave two waves. "Oh, hey! Glad you're happy and fine. How are you doing?"

 _I'm fine!_ Jane signaled.

"Well, it's been some time since we last saw each other. Did mom tell you about my military… wait, who's that beside you?" Minsoo asked. Confused, Jane looked around her to find Abigail and Sma huddled around her. "Damnit, does that mean I have to speak in English?" Jane gave as shrug. "Alright, then. Who are you guys?" Minsoo asked in English.

"We're her friends!" Sam replied.

"Steady there, Goku. What's your name?" Minsoo asked again.

"I'm Abigail and this is Sam." Abigail chirped.

"…and that guy behind you? Were you beating him up?"

"Oh, him? Seb! Jane's brother's calling! I hope he'll understand that you're her boyfriend!" Abigail jokingly called.

"I'm not! Jesus, Abby!" Sebastian grunted as he made his way to the computer camera. "Uh… hello."

"Alright, Chris Angels. You're that boy my parents claim that you're my sister's boyfri…" Minsoo was interrupted.

"I said I'm not! It's Sebastian, by the way." Sebastian cut him off. Abigail howled with laughter while Jane blushed while covering her face.

"He is! They're so cute together!" Abigail said. Jane slapped her shoulder.

"Well, you two will get there eventually." Minsoo jokingly added.

"Hey!" Sebastian exclaimed with rosy cheeks. Sam couldn't help but collapse on the floor laughing. "What the hell, Sam?!"

"Anyway, Haneul. I hope everything's fine there." Minsoo continued. Jane nodded. "I'm actually surprised that you gave up your university admission for farming. Well, to be honest, I'm proud that she followed her goals. She was grandpa's favorite grandchild. In fact, I only saw him once. Anway, what were you four doing?"

"Abby and Jane were in a StarCraft II tournament." Sebastian replied.

"Yeah, and your sister ANNIHILATED her!" Sam added.

"Really? As expected. Haneul tried applying for a E-Sports team, but our parents refused. I supported her decision, though. Geez, what's wrong with having a real life D va, anyway?" Minsoo said.

"Wow, your sister's amazing! First, videogames, violin and now… E-Sports?!" Sam exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. I know. I still don't understand why people hate her except a few of her friends including you. Still, it's good to see her with you lots." Suddenly, something sparked in Jane's mind as she shaped her sentence in her hands.

 _Can you sing for us?_

"What?! Sing?! Are you insane? Not when there are people around!" Minsoo exclaimed, but Jane whimpered in plea. Unable to disappoint his sister, Minsoo nodded. "Alright, fine. One verse only, okay?" Jane nodded in glee as her brother pulled his guitar out from outside the screen and started playing a Korean Acoustic song while singing to it. It lasted only about forty seconds, but Jane and her friends clapped genuinely. Minsoo was blushing in embarrassment. "Ugh, I think mom's calling. I have to go. Stay strong, Jane! Bye!" Jane and her friends waved him goodbye as he disconnected the Skype call. Jane turned to Abigail to find her blushing, too.

 _Do you like him?_ Jane asked with a giggle.

"He… he sings so well…" Abigail said.

"Yup, she likes him. Jane, what do you have to say about this?" Sebastian asked.

"You two are not alone!" Sam interrupted. Sebastian and Abigail flipped him off while Jane burst in laughter.

"E… enough! Let's play Overwatch now! Sam, go to your computer while Jane, you turn on Overwatch, now!" Abigail interrupted as she walked to her laptop.


	13. CHAPTER 12: Blossom (Sebastian)

**Notes:** I will post this fanfiction every Thursday. I am a very busy student who is spending 73 percent of my time in studies. Please understand that I can't post this whenever I want. Thank you. Enjoy the new chapter where Emotional things start.

 **CHAPTER 12: BLOSSOM (SEBASTIAN)**

 _-Haneul Park: Seb?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Yeah?_

 _-Haneul Park: I heard about the Flower Festival that's going to be held tomorrow from Abby._

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Oh that?_

 _It's the 'Sebastian looks stupid' day._

 _Yeah, sounds more appropriate._

 _-Haneul Park: LOL_

 _Minus one for self loathing._

 _-Sebastian Callahan: That's how it is. What's up?_

 _-Haneul Park: Do you have a dance partner?_

A long pause followed before Sebastian started typing.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: yes._

 _Sorry_

 _Lewis forced me with Abigail._

 _-Haneul Park: : (_

 _Okay_

 _See you tomorrow_

Sighing by Jane's response, Sebastian locked his phone. "Was it Jane" Abigail asked, sitting on her floor coushion. The two were in Abigail's room, practicing for tomorrow's Flower Dance.

"Yeah." Sebastian replied. He felt so guilty for what he had said to jane.

"She asked you to be her dance partner, did she?" the purple-haired girl asked as if she had realized something.

"…Yeah."

"Why didn't you say yes?!" Abigail exclaimed. "I don't have to dance if you did!"

"Abby, are you stupid? Lewis literally forced us together! Not to mention your mom being a total boss to you about it! Do you think I have a choice? Even if I did, Lewis will be a douche and prevent Jane from dancing because… you know…"

"Prosthetics?"

"Exactly. I don't know what she's going to do." Sebastian concluded, sighing. Just then, the room door gave a knock.

"Abigail, I can't hear you two practicing!" Caroline's voice called. Grunting, Abigail stood up from her floor cushion. Sebastian followed her up as he turned on the boom box that Abigail's mother provided for the dance practice.

"Let's practice. Jesus Christ…" Sebastian grunted as he and Abigail moved according to music.

It was the day of the Flower Festival. Sebastian exited from his bathroom all washed up for the horrible day. He saw that Robin had placed a blue jumpsuit with a brown peasant's cap on his desk while he was still sleeping. Sighing, he changed from his green T-shirt into a white formal shirt. He then tried the jumpsuit on. Tight as usual. 'This is the most stupid thing to ever exist.' Sebastian thought as he twisted his body to check on his sides. The arm sleeves had brown rags stitched on for unknown reasons. When he was all set, he walked up from his basement room to join his family in breakfast, awaiting his usual coos of embarrassment from his mother.

"Sebby, you look so…"

"I know where this is going and no, I don't." Sebastian interrupted his mother as he sat down on his seat. "I look horrible. You know, those French hobos."

"How did you know?" Maru jokingly asked. She was still in her pajamas unlike Sebastian.

"Go to hell, Maru."

"Sebastian?!" Demetrius called with an angry but cool voice.

"Sorry." Sebastian begrudgingly apologized. Just then, his phone gave an SMS ring. It was from Jane.

 _-Jane: Hey, I already finished my farm work with Miss Lannister._

He was talking about Marnie.

 _-Sebastian: Okay. Should I take you to the festival?_

 _-Jane: no, it's okay._

 _-Sebastian: K. Cya_

"Was it Jane, Sebby?" Robin asked as she placed her empty plate in the sink.

"Yeah. She finished her farm work with Marnie." Sebastian replied with a sigh.

"Why didn't you ask her to be her dance partner?"

"Don't you remember? Lewis forced me with Abigail." Sebastian replied, covering his face. "I feel so bad."

"Sebby, aww!" Robin cooed. Sebastian didn't have the willpower to fight back. "Don't worry, she'll find a way." She said as she patted her son's back. "Maru, get dressed. We're going soon."

When the Callahan family departed from the Carpenter's Shop and headed their way to the Cindersap Forest through Agria Farm, Sebastian separated to check on Jane's cottage. His worry overtook him when his door knocks didn't respond. He had no choice but to peek through the window to find nobody inside. Jane's computer was on with the main menu of Sins of a Solar Empire displaying on the screen. Sebastian gave a sigh as he walked away from the farm and towards the part of Cindersap Forest where the Flower Festival would take place. Sebastian caught up with his family as he crossed the wooden lank that lead to a remote and flat plain of grass covered with colorful banners. Everyone was here, making him the last person to arrive. As soon as he left the wooden plank, he immediately jogged to Sam and Abigail, who were also wearing their dance clothes. Abigail was wearing a short, flowery dress. "What's up?" Sam called.

"Not much." Sebastian replied, giving a sigh.

"He feels guilty for rejecting Jane's partner offer." Abigail said, giggling.

"N…no I don't…" Sebastian tried to refute, but his guilt stopped him. "…She's right."

"Aww, I knew that you two are destined to be together!" Sam cooed as Penny wearing a dress similar to Abigail's approached him. "Hi, sweetie."

"Hello!" Penny replied as she kissed Sam's cheek.

"Penny, where's Jane?" Sebastian asked.

"Jane? I saw her walking around the place. I think I last saw her with Doctor Harvey." Hearing this, Sebastian bolted to where Harvey was. His tight jumpsuit hindered his movements. When he reached the doctor, Jane wasn't there.

"Doc, where's Jane?" Sebastian asked.

"Jane? She walked that way." Harvey replied, pointing at his said location. "Wait, aren't you her dance partner?"

"The mayor forced me with Abigail. I would have been if it weren't for him!" Sebastian replied as he ran towards the place where Harvey pointed. He saw Jane wearing the flowery dress with Alex Mullner and Haley Laveri, the Flower Monarchs. They were to be the center of the Dance, wearing crowns made of flowers.

"…Dance partner?" Alex asked. Jane nodded. "Uh… I'm sorry. You see…"

"Back off, girl." Haley scoffed as she snickered. "You're unworthy of the Dance."

"Haley, that's too harsh! I'll convince her…" Alex tried to speak.

"Alex, let me deal with this trash. Get lost before he breaks that chopstick leg!" Haley said as she pushed Jane away and walked away with Alex. Jane struggled to get up as she sobbed. Sebastian couldn't take it any longer. Knowing that he was too weak for Alex and Haley, he ran to Jane as she was crying. Her dress became dirty due to the blonde girl's attack.

"Jane?" Sebastian asked as she crouched beside her. He helped her wipe her tears. "Are you okay?" Jane nodded as people started crowding around the two. "Come on, let's get you up." Sebastian said as he helped the farmer up.

"Seb, what happened?" Caroline asked.

"It's Haley. Again."

"What did she do to her?" Emily asked.

"She pushed her. Not to mention mock her for her disabilities." Hearing this, Emily gave a sigh of disbelief.

"This is the most unacceptable. I'll pull her out of the dance." Lewis said as he stormed to Haley, but Jane stopped him.

 _Please don't. I'm not going to dance._ Jane typed. Sebastian knew her true intention: She didn't want to add fuel to the flame. _Give her a chance. Please forgive her._ Seeing this, the mayor gave a sigh.

"Alright. Remember, Jane. If she does that to you again, she will NOT be forgiven. Okay?" Lewis asked. Jane nodded and the crown dispersed. "Alright, everybody! Two hours until the Dance! Start practicing!" He shouted. All of the young people of Pelican Town started practicing for the Flower Dance as Jane quietly walked to a bench at the corner. Giving a sigh, Sebastian walked to Abigail and began practicing.

It was two in the afternoon when Lewis gathered everybody for the dance. Sam, Penny, Harvey, Maru, Alex, Haley, Shane, Emily, Elliott and Leah positioned themselves for the dance. "Where's the last couple?" Lewis called as Abigail and Sebastian walked to their positions. "Looks like everyone's in position." He said. "Alright, everybody! As a tradition since 1896, the Flower Dance is done to commemorate the end of the plague of 1841 and the sufferings of our ancestors! This is an act of praise to Yoba! Let their actions be never forgotten!" He exclaimed as he turned the boom box on. The speakers started playing a tranquil tune of cello. The dancers started to dap their feet slowly according to the beat. The girls on dresses raised their hips left and right and lifted their skirts slightly to the same direction as their male partners bent their knees and straightened them. As the violins started playing, the boys approached the girls slowly while still bending and straightening their knees. When the piano kicked in, the boys held the girls' waists while they wrapped their arms around the boys' necks. Sebastian continued to observe Jane as she helplessly watched the Dance alone. "What's wrong?" Abigail asked.

"S…she's crying." Sebastian replied as he saw tears roll down the farmer's cheeks.

"It's all Lewis's fault." Abigail whispered as Sebastian twirled her around.

"I know."

"What are you…? I mean, we going to do? I don't know how to cheer her up."

"Me too."

"We can throw her a surprise game night… or a sleepover!"

"Abby, we're not kids!" Sebastian hissed, but fell into deep thought. "…Actually, we can do that."

"Okay. That's one way for you two to get together." Abigail joked as she twirled around once more.

"Jesus Christ, Abby…" Sebastian grunted as the music and the dance started to fade. It was over. Everybody who didn't dance clapped for the dancers as they ran off the ground blushing.

"I know you'll find a way, Seb." Abigail said, winking. Suddenly, something sparked in his mind. That's it! All he needed was an empty field and a boom box.

The sun was starting to set when people started to leave the Festival grounds. Sebastian saw Penny and Maru comforting the weeping Jane who refused to leave the bench. Sebastian's heart started to race. He couldn't bear the guilt as he approached Lewis. "Mr. McLengst." Sebastian called.

"What is it?" Lewis asked.

"May I ask why you've forced me with Abigail for the dance?"

"Oh, uh… How should I say this…" Lewis hesitated.

"Is it because she can't walk properly? Is it because Abigail's parents told you to do so? Is it because you fear that she'll embarrass herself and ruin the festival?!" Sebastian asked with anger building up.

"…Yes." Lewis replied. "You were the only one capable of dancing with Abigail. It is the rule to have at least six couples to dance. Plus, as you have said, Jane would have embarrassed herself should she make a terrible mistake during the Dance. It's better to be safe than sorry, Sebastian. Besides, we thought that she didn't want to dance."

"Then why did she wear the dress?! She asked me to be her dance partner yesterday! Do you know how people think of me as now?!" Sebastian shouted.

"Sebastian, I am truly sorry. I would have let you if it weren't for Abigail's mother. Really. I can't fix the past, Sebastian. Is there something I can help you?" Hearing this, Sebastian immediately made his decision.

"I want to borrow the radio." Sebastian said, pointing at the boom box.

"Very well, then. I can do that. Remember to return it by tomorrow." Lewis nodded as he walked away. Sebastian grabbed the boom box and approached Jane, who was still crying on the bench. Penny and Maru weren't doing a good job in comforting her.

"Gals, can you give us some…. Uh… personal space? Especially you, Maru. This is between the two of us." Sebastian said.

"Why?" Maru asked.

"…Because if this gets leaked, your intestines will be smothered on Demetrius' face. Now get out." Sebastian replied. The two girls nodded as they walked away. Seeing that the area was void of people, Sebastian stood next to Jane.

"Jane?" Jane looked up, tears soaking her cheek. A bit of her dirty dress was soaked with it. "Can you follow me?" Sebastian asked, holding his hand. Jane hesitantly accepted it and the raven-haired boy helped her up. He escorted her to the middle. "Did you practice for the Dance? I'm just curious." Jane nodded.

 _Why?_ Jane typed.

"…Because I want to make it up for you." Sebastian replied as he walked five steps away from her and turned the boom box on. "Come on, Jane. Follow me." Sebastian said as he bent and straightened his knees following the slow beat. Jane couldn't help but raise her hips left and right followed by her dress lifting. She gave a sheepish smile as Sebastian approached her following the beat. Finally, he lightly held her waist as Jane wrapped her arms around his neck. Both of them blushed as the two swayed left and right. Suddenly, Jane's prosthetic right hand left his neck and reached for Sebastian's hand. She held it gently and raised it sideways. "That's not part of the dance." Sebastian said. Jane gave a shrug as she continued to sway left and right. Despite not being able to bend her knees due to her prosthetic leg, the dance was easy as she gave a twirl while holding Sebastian's hand tightly so that she wouldn't trip. The two continued dancing until the song faded away. When they released themselves, they suddenly heard claps beside them. The townspeople had gathered around the two.

"Way to go, Seb!" Sam shouted.

"I've recorded all of this! I'll post this in Facebook for you, Jane!" Abigail giggled. She was recording the entire situation with her phone. Sebastian and jane couldn't help but blush. The farmer bowed to the crowd as Sebastian quickly escorted her out from the dance grounds while trying his best to cover his rosy cheeks.

The sun was nowhere to be found when Sebastian and Jane arrived at Agria Farm. The surrounding farmland waved around by the soft breeze. As soon as the raven-haired boy stopped at the porch of the cottage, Jane hugged him as tight as a boa constrictor. The two couldn't help but heat up.

 _Thank you so much_ Jane typed when she released Sebastian.

"I'm your personal helper, Jane. I did what I thought I had to do." Sebastian replied, patter her back. "Ugh, this jumpsuit is so uncomfortable. Confirms the fact that it's the worst invention made by humanity." He grunted as he pulled on his jumpsuit, trying to give space for air for his constricted body.

 _Do you want to stay here for a while?_ Jane asked. Sebastian felt a weird sensation. He would normally reject such offer and get back to the Carpenter's Shop as soon as possible, but now, he wanted to accept.

"Of course!" Sebastian exclaimed. _Damnit, Seb!_ He scolded himself.

 _Wait until I change._ Jane typed as she closed the door behind him. She opened the door again in her usual indoor clothes. She handed him what looked like a military uniform.

"Is it for me?" Jane nodded as she exited the cottage and let Sebastian in. He shut the door and started to undress. He quickly removed his jumpsuit with extreme difficulty and tried on the clothes that the farmer gave him. It turned out to be a military uniform that Jane's brother Minsoo wore that he gifted her. It was a bit too big for Sebastian. 'How big is her brother?!' he thought as he let Jane back in.

 _You look so small in that!_ Jane typed, giggling.

"I know. I'm a small guy." Sebastian replied. "…Says the girl who's shorter…" He muttered. Jane laughed as she slapped his shoulder.

 _You wanna play SOASE (Sins of a Solar Empire)?_ Jane asked as she pointed at her computer.

"Sure, as long as you let me play as the Vasari Loyalists." Sebastian replied as he jumped on the computer chair. Jane observed him play Sins of a Solar Empire until the clock struck eight. "It's time for me to go." The raven-haired boy said as he saved the game and quit. He stood up to exit the cottage. When he was outside of the cottage, Jane grabbed him by his arm as if she had something to tell him. When he turned to face the farmer awaiting her question, Jane leaned forward and planted a long kiss on his cheek. She then hugged him tightly, both of their cheeks fiery red. When she released him, Sebastian bid her goodbye and walked out of the farm through the northern exit that lead to the mountain, wearing Jane's brother's bulky uniform while holding his jumpsuit in a shopping bag. As he walked, however, something like a surge grew in his body as small thoughts of images of Jane started to appear in his mind. What was this feeling?


	14. CHAPTER 13: Dewdrop (Jane)

**CHAPTER 13: DEWDROP (JANE)**

Jane couldn't stop thinking about the Flower Dance. The kiss on Sebastian's cheek was all that was in her mind. Plus, the fact that this raven-haired boy personally danced with her made Jane's heart skipped a beat. Rolling around on her bed, she couldn't find a way to sleep. 'I seriously can't find a way to sleep.' She thought, fumbling through her Facebook on her phone. Indeed, Abigail had really posted the video that she had talked about after the dance. 'Should I watch this?' Jane asked herself, knowing about the cringe that would follow if she did. She decided to watch it, seeing that twenty people had left likes. In fact, she needed to see how horrible she danced. As she watched herself and Sebastian dance according to the music, she constantly avoided the screen, cringing and blushing. When the video was finally over, Jane scrolled to the comments section to find her Korean friends have left some words.

 _-Alex Mullner: LOL the goth and the mute danced?_

 _-Haley Laveri: Wow I dind't expect the chopstick leg to have a partner._

 _-Sam Arvidel: Gj Abigail!_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: XD_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Wtf really?_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: I told you that I'll post it!_

 _-Minsoo Park_ (Jane's Brother) _: I knew it! I knew that the two will go far!_

 _=Sam Arvidel's reply: XD XD XD_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: Lol I kow!_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: I'm showing this to my parents_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: yeessssssss_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: Who the hell is Haley, anyway? Who gave her the permission to insult my sister?_

 _=Sam Arvidel: Looks like SOMEONE's in trouble!_

 _-Jiwoo Bae:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim: Holy cow, this is Haneul?_ _ㅋㅋㅋ_ (In Korean)

 _=Jiwoo Bae's reply: She devinitely has a crush on that Sebastian guy._ (In Korean)

 _=Hyunsoo Kim:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _-Minseo Lee: Wow_ _ㅋㅋㅋ_ (In Korean)

Jane quickly exited Facebook and buried her face on the pillow. Never in her life has she been this embarrassed. She still couldn't sleep despite the clock telling that the time was 2: 47 AM. She needed to do something if she is not going to sleep. Wait… that's right! Videogames! She limped out of her bed and powered her computer on. She turned on Overwatch and started playing on ranked and normal matches. She normally plays as Ana, Pharah or D Va. For some reason, Jane wanted to play as Widowmaker for tonight. Maybe her current mood of wishing to stay away from the crowd made her heart choose this hero. She took her spot and sniped the enemy team while supporting her team with her ultimate ability. After two matches, she switched her character to Zenyatta. As she played, however, she noticed two familiar IDs in her team: 'Star98' and 'SHADOW'. Jane immediately knew who they were: Sam and Sebastian. Although the coincidence made the mute farmer happy, she decided to remain silent for the whole match. She saw Sam play as Reinhardt while Sebastian as Bastion. She knew that they were going for the shield-minigun strategy. Shrugging, Jane decided to butt in by providing a D Va beside her with an Orb of Harmony as she attacked through Sam's shield. This continued for a few matches which resulted in victories. Sebastian ended up receiving the most Play of the Games but it was Jane who was upvoted as the Epic player the most. Jane yawned as she checked the time. It was already 4 o'clock in the morning, yet drowsiness was nowhere to be found. 'Maybe I won't sleep today.' Jane thought as she closed Overwatch and turned on Sins of a Solar Empire. When she saw Sebastian's save file that he made in the afternoon, she was tempted to see what was going on there, but she didn't want to tamper with it, thus starting a new game as the Advent Rebels.

Jane's eyes were concentrated on a fleet battle when the door knocked behind her. "Jane?" Sebastian's voice called. The farmer snapped back to reality with a gasp and checked the clock. Quarter past 7 in the morning. She quickly saved and quit the game. She tried to run for the door, but tripped on her way. She crawled to the door and twisted the doorknob. When the door opened, it hit Jane's left index finger. "Oh my god, Jane!" Sebastian exclaimed as he knelt down. "Are you okay?" Jane nodded as she squeezed her index finger. He grabbed her hand to check if it was really okay. As Sebastian's hand touched Jane's, a warm sensation spread between the two. The two started at each other's eyes until a blush formed on their cheeks. Sebastian looked away but Jane's eyes couldn't unlock from him. "L… let this work." Sebastian said as he helped Jane up. As Jane's eyes concentrated on the raven-haired boy, Sebastian saw the big dark bags below her eyes. "How long did you sleep?" Jane started to hesitate. Her phone was on her desk, making her unable to answer him. "You didn't sleep, didn't you?" Sebastian said as if he realized something. Jane limped to the desk for her phone, but she found the battery almost depleted. Sighing, she limped for a pencil and paper and wrote her response.

 _Yeah._

"Are you serious, Jane?! Why?!" Sebastian scolded. "Is that why I saw your Battle Tag for two hours?"

 _I thought you didn't know_.

"Don't lie, Jane. You don't know how hectic the voice chat between Sam and I were when we saw 'FlyToTheSky' in our team for ten matches! Don't forget the fact you've always stuck close to us during payload maps!" Sebastian shook his head. "Should I tell you something?" Jane's ears twitched as she yawned. "Go to sleep. Now. I'll be doing the farm work for today."

 _But it's strawberry harvest today! I want to harvest them!_ Jane wrote.

"Jane, no. I'll water everything and harvest whatever crops are ready. If you don't sleep right now, I'll… I'll…" Sebastian paused, making Jane think. Does he know any of her dark secrets? "… Ugh, I don't know." Never mind. "What matters is that you have to sleep. Please, get to your bed." Jane giggled as she nodded. She then proceeded to hug him before he closed the door behind her. "Is it okay if you leave the door unlocked?" Sebastian asked behind the door. Smiling, she gave a thumbs-up through the window. "Okay. You better go to sleep!" The raven-haired boy said as Jane heard footsteps move away from the cottage. She wished to watch her friend work, but Sebastian's words were right: She was really tired. Jane plugged her phone to her charger and limped to her bed. She removed her prosthetic leg and fell into deep slumber.

Jane woke up by the sounds of muffled gunshots and announcer voices. Her head was dizzy due to the long sleep she had "Oh, you've awoken." Sebastian voice said. Jane rubbed her eyes to see what was going on. She saw Sebastian sitting on a table chair, watching YouTube videos on his phone. With groggy eyes and sore throat, Jane grabbed her phone and started typing.

 _Did you sell everything?_

"No. Everything's in the baskets beside your bed… and on your table." Sebastian replied, pointing at the ground below her. Jane rolled over to the edge of her bed to find three baskets filled with fresh farm produce. She looked at the table to find a large basket filled with something red. Immediately knowing what it is, Jane quickly reattached her prosthetic leg and limped to the table. She found that the basket was filled to the brim with strawberries, her favorite fruit. She bound around with glee by how many there were and how fresh they looked.

 _I really wanted to pick them myself!_ Jane typed.

"Well, it's your fault that you've stayed up for the whole night." Sebastian shrugged. Pouting, Jane took one strawberry and popped it in her mouth while making sure to not eat the grassy part. As soon as her teeth made contact and crushed the fruit, the juices coated her mouth with sweetness, making the farmer squeal with delight. "Is it that good?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded as she handed him a fruit. "Thanks." He said as he took the fruit and chewed on it. During the process, Jane blushed.

'Why am I so like this?' Jane thought.

"Hey, you're right… It's really good!" Sebastian complimented. Jane gave a disarming smile as she stared at her phone's clock. 2: 15 PM. "You've slept for a long time." Sebastian remarked.

 _I'm bored. Take me somewhere!_

"Somewhere? Uh…" Sebastian hesitated. "…is my house okay?" Jane nodded in response.

 _Let's take the scenic route!_

"What? You mean that you want to take a walk around the whole town?!" The farmer nodded. "Ugh, fine. Let's go after we sell those. Let' keep some of the strawberries." Sebastian grunted as he picked up two of the baskets.

Jane and Sebastian walked out of Agria Farm and arrived at Pelican Town. The two were greeted by the townspeople with a mixture of warm greetings and the mocking of yesterday's event (Which Sebastian hated both). Sam and Abigail were the prime people who made fun of the two with questions like did they watched the video that the purple-haired girl posted. Sebastian flipped them off as Jane covered her face and her blush. As they climbed the mountain, they encountered Lewis staring at the large dilapidated building that Jane had always questioned about. "What a painful sight." Lewis sighed. Jane approached the mayor with Sebastian following "Hello, you two." The mayor greeted them.

 _This building is a bit familiar._ Jane typed.

"It should. Your grandfather took you and your friends here to play her every weekend when you were a child." Lewis replied. Suddenly, memories started to flood into her mind. She gave a big smile when a memory of her playing with Abigail and Sam in front of the building flew into her mind. "There you go." Lewis said.

 _It's the Community Center, isn't it?_ Jane asked. Sebastian nodded.

"That's right." Sebastian said.

"Your grandfather was a great contributor for the renovation of the building at 1973. Our great grandparents build it as a town hall during 1866. The Center was so lively with people performing numerous activities; let it be entertainment and service. Now, it' slike what you're looking at because… well, computers." Lewis added. "Joja Corporation has been nagging me with selling the building." The mayor said, sighing. Jane frowned by the word 'Joja'. "The Town could use the money, but perhaps it's my old man's habit that's preventing me from doing it. Since that twenty-nine out of thirty people have a membership card of JojaMart, I'll sell the building when one more person registers for it."

 _I wanna see what's inside!_ Jane typed.

"Jane, I don't think…." Sebastian stopped when Jane gave him a look of plea. Blushing, Sebastian gave in and nodded.

"Alright, let's go in." Lewis said as he fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out a rusty key and used it to unlock the massive double door. Jane and Sebastian followed the mayor into the Community Center. When the farmer entered the building, sadness enveloped every part of her body. This wasn't what she had remembered. The windows were broken; mildew grew on the walls, giving them a disgusting darkish green color. The floor was cracked with chips of granite and wood scattered all across the ground. Strangely, there was a small object that resembled a tree hut on the left corner.

"Jesus Christ, this place is like the Outlast." Sebastian whispered.

"What's this?" Lewis asked himself as he stared at the hut. "Looks like Vincent and Jas have been playing inside here." Jane stared at Sebastian with a confused look.

"They're the young kids of Pelican Town. Vincent is Sam's brother." Sebastian whispered. Jane nodded. As she looked around her surroundings trying to see where her memories took place, she saw something appear next to the large fireplace at the center of the building. It was a small green entity with large eyes. It resembled an apple. Jane gasped as she pointed at the entity.

"What's wrong?" Lewis asked as he turned around to see what the farmer was pointing at. However, the entity vanished. "…Are you sick?" Jane shook her head. In fact, Sebastian's face was pale while he was facing the direction of Jane's finger. Just when Jane thought that everything was relaxed, the same entity appeared on the same spot. It was _waving_ at her. She gave another gasp, but it disappeared without a trace.

"I saw something!" Sebastian exclaimed.

"You two are worrying me here." Lewis replied, seeing that the duo had dilated eyes. Jane was sure that she wasn't hallucinating; the entity looked to real. "Perhaps this is common. It wouldn't be a surprise to find rats here." The mayor chuckled, taking a look at his watch. "Oh dear, it's lunchtime. I'll leave this door unlocked. I'm sure you'll find the rat." He said as he walked out of the building. As soon as Lewis left he building, Jane started typing on her phone with Sebastian staring at its screen

 _How did it look like?_

"I… it looked like a green apple with… uh… cute eyes?" Sebastian replied.

 _That's exactly what I saw!_

"Exactly. What do you say? Should we… uh… investigate?" Just as Sebastian finished talking, the two heard unknown noises coming from their left.

 _It's coming from that room._ Jane typed, pointing at the room with blue walls corrupted by mildew. Sebastian slowly walked to the room with Jane limping along. When the two peeked in the room, their jaws dropped at the sight. Twelve of the entities that the two saw at the center room with various colors were gathered around a purple entity, which was shivering. When one of them turned to face Jane and Sebastian, it gave a chirp, making all of the entities disappear into thin air. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was the purple entity that was in the middle and a golden plate behind it. When Jane slowly approached the entity, she noticed that one of its eyes had a very large yellow scar as if something clawed it. It looked like as if it was feeble as if it was wounded, capturing Jane's heart. She sat down in front o fit and lent it her left hand. Then entity slowly approached her and held out its pygmy arm to her, touching her hand. As soon as it made contact, something seemed to flash in her body. What was this feeling? It felt like a ribbon tied into a knot.

"It seems to like you." Sebastian remarked as he walked to the golden plate. By then, the entity had sat on Jane's right knee and stared at her on her eyes, making the farmer's heart skip a beat.

 _I know._ Jane typed, giggling.

"Wanna keep it?" Sebastian asked. "I don't know, but they look like they are magical." He added as he inspected the golden plate. Jane gave a shrug. Magical or not, she was always okay with making a new friend. "What'cha gonna name it?" Jane paused to think. What would suit its appearance? Gamja (Korean for potato)? No, that's too silly. Kong (Korean for bean)? No. Suddenly something snapped in her mind. Yes, that's it! The entity's dewdrop-like appearance was the answer!

 _Iseul_ (Korean for Dewdrop) _!_ Jane typed. The entity chirped in happiness. It seemed to have understood her thoughts. _What's written there?_ Jane asked, pointing at the golden plate.

"Some… strange language that I've never seen before." Sebastian replied. "Hey, uh… let's go back. We've been here for too long.

 _May I take this buddy with me? It's so adorable!_ The entity, seeming to read Jane's thoughts, bounced up and down on her shoulder as if it liked the idea.

"Sure. Come on, let's go." Sebastian replied as he helped Jane up with Iseul clinging on her shoulder.

When the duo returned to Agria Farm, Jane noticed that there was a letter in the mailbox. _Was this like so since morning?_ Jane asked, but Sebastian shook his head. Shrugging, the farmer opened the mailbox to find a purple envelope inside. She tore it open and read the contents inside.

 _Young Ones,_

 _I have sensed that you have found something interesting in the Community Center. Come to my tower at the west of the forest. I have your answers. The spirit await their salvation, descendant of the Stardrop Farmer._

 _-The Wizard_

As soon as Jane finished reading, the letter disintegrated into fine dust and fell to the ground. "Whoa, what the hell?!" Sebastian exclaimed. Jane was no different. She was curious about this wizard.

 _Who is the wizard?_ Jane typed.

"Oh, it's the guy who lives in that tower at Cindersap Forest. Why?"

 _I want to see him._

"What?! Are you crazy? He might be a druglord!"

 _Can you explain the letter, then?_ Jane asked, pointing at the dust that used to be the letter. Sebastian dropped his head in defeat. Jane knew that there was no question about the mystery of this wizard despite there being some fear in her.

"…Fine. I won't be responsible for us being hurt, okay?" Jane nodded in response. She let Iseul jump off of her and onto her bed.

'Make yourself home.' Jane thought with the entity chirping in reply. The duo then walked south towards Cindersap Forest. The two walked past trees and bushes while greeting Marnie and Leah along the way. When they climbed some stairs up a cliff, they stood in front of the door of the mysterious tower.

'How did I not know of this place before?' Jane thought as she tried to knock on the door, but it immediately swung open, revealing a purple haired man with a beard of the same color wearing a black cape and a pointy cowboy hat of the same color.

"Ah, you have set your doubts aside. Come in." The man said with a very thick and low Russian accent, letting the two young people in the tower. The interior was very dimly lit due to the fact that candles were the only sources of light here. The walls were filled to the brim with books about alchemy, supernatural beings and spells. One small shelf beside a trapdoor at the far side of the tower contained what looked like necronomicons. A white heptagram was visible on the right side of the tower while a hug cauldron filled with a viscous green liquid bubbled on the opposite side. "Perhaps you wish to know who I am." The man said.

"You've better have not invited us here for drugs." Sebastian said. His right hand was tingling near a bulge on his jeans pocket. Jane couldn't exactly see what it was, but it looked metallic. Could it be a weapon? If possible, a firearm?

"Doubt, I can sense. I understand. You naïve commons tend to fear the extraordinary. Just like you, descendant of the Stardrop Farmer." The man said to Jane. "I am Milosz Rasmodius, the Valley's 502nd Wizard. I am the guardian of the Seven Elements, to name one of my purposes." Jane nodded with slight fear and confusion mixed with her emotions. She reached for her phone to speak, but the wizard stopped her. "There is no need to use that atrocious machine. I shall listen to what you think." The wiard said.

"Why did you call us here?" Sebastian asked.

"As I have written before, I have your answers to your question." The wizard replied, walking to the heptagram. With a murmuring chant, the seven candles that were on the points of the heptagram ignited with green flames. "Behold!" The wizard shouted as two green orbs of magic formed on his palms. The orbs hit the center of the heptagram, causing a white flash followed by a white circle after the flash dissipated. There was the entity that Jane and Sebastian saw in the Community Center.

'Yes! That's the thing that I saw!' Jane thought, bouncing in recognition.

"Indeed. They call themselves the Junimos. I see that… you have one in possession in your farm." The wizard replied.

'But it came to me!'

"If it accepted you as such, then let it be. In fact, it is their will." Rasmodius assured, and then concentrated back to the Junimo that was in the center of the heptagram. "Hmm… this one refuses to talk to me. I shall let it go." He said as he murmured a chant. Instantly, the candles extinguished themselves and the Junimo disappeared. "It questions me of why they would be dwelling in the Community Center. Anyway, are there any more questions?" Sebastian, tension seemingly gone, approached the wizard.

"I saw a gold plate with… I think their language written."

"Is that so?" The wizard asked. "Hmm… never have I seen this. Wait here. I shall return shortly." Within seconds, the wizard disappeared in a flash. Shocked, Jane and Sebastian looked at each other.

"I… I was wrong about the drug lord thing." Sebastian said.

 _This is weird._ Jane typed. Just then, the door opened behind the two, startling them as the wizard entered the tower.

"I have read the plate." He said as he walked to the table beside the heptagram. "It was hard to read, but I have managed to decipher it. Let's see…  
 _'We, the Junimos are more than glad to aid you to redeem the Magic of the Valley. Give us the gifts of the Valley and we shall help restore its glory. If you truly wish to aid us, it is necessary to be One with the Forest.'_ "

'What does that mean?' Jane thought.

"That, I know not." The wizard replied, walking to the bubbling cauldron. "As the Junimos said… One with the Forest…" The wizard fell into deep thought, making Jane and Sebastian exchange looks of confusion.

 _Do you have any idea?_ Jane typed, but the raven-haried boy shook his head. Suddenly, the wizard gave a jolt, startling Sebastian.

"A-ha! Yes, that is it! How foolish was I to have the answer right on my nose and not know about it!" The wizard exclaimed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sebastian asked.

"This! The Potion of Kindness… made with the elements of the forest." The wizard continued, filling two wooden bowls with thee viscous fluid. "Drink, you two! Let the essence of the Forest permeate through your bodies!" He said as he handed the bowls to the duo. Jane took it unquestioningly. The wizard's magic was convincing enough, although she didn't know what consequence that might follow should she drink.

"Ugh, Jane, I don't think this is a good idea." Sebastian grunted, but seeing that Jane had gulped down the potion, Sebastian rolled his eyes as he followed. The duo started to feel dizzy as everything around Jane became distorted. She fell to the ground as the wizard murmur chanted spells and her and her friend's world became dark.


	15. CHAPTER 14: Situation (Sebastian)

_10-year old Sebastian observed as his mother struck a tree down with her axe. He looked around the forest around him and found what looked like an entrance to some place. "Mommy, where does that take us to?" He asked._

 _"Oh? That leads to Mr. Park's farm! Do you want to go there?" Robin asked, but Sebastian shook his head. "Sebby, it's not your fault that Jane is hurt. You don't have to be sad!"_

 _"But mommy, I.. I… ran like a baby when she got hurt by that monster."_

 _"Sebby?" Robin said with a serious face. "I know that you want to go see her. I'm letting you!" After a long pause, Sebastian nodded._

 _"Yes, mommy." The raven-haired child said as he headed for Agria Farm with a slow pace. When he arrived, he was greeted by a wide variety of summer crops. There were patches of blueberries that spread from where he was standing to the other end of the farm. As he walked around, trying to remember the tales that his true father (Whom he doesn't know the name) told him, the various types of crops made the child want to touch every single part of the plants. As Sebastian walked to the center of the farm, he noticed that there was a patch of plants that he had never seen before. As he approached, he saw purple star-shaped fruit growing from each plant. Curious, he picked one from the plant closest to him. 'What is this?' Sebastian thought as he inspected the fruit. Just then, he saw a large shadow grow behind him. Trembling in fear, he turned around to find an old man in farmer's attire staring at him. "Please don't hurt me, I'm sorry for trespassing…" Sebastian pleaded as he knelt down, awaiting his demise followed by a… chuckle?_

 _"Trespassing?" The old man repeated, followed by a soft laughter. "Everybody is welcome to Agria Farm! Aren't you Robin's son?" he asked._

 _"…Yes." Sebastian replied._

 _"Well, don't worry boy! I'm Jane's grandfather!" The old man introduced himself as he helped the boy get to his feet. "I see you have picked yourself a Stardrop! It's good to try new things! Go ahead, try it! It's the most delicious think in the world." With his words, Sebastian took a bite of the purple fruit. As soon as his teeth crushed it into pulp, its juices coated his mouth. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his life. In fact, it filled his mind with the thoughts of his father. He felt energized. "So, how was it?" Jane's grandfather asked._

 _"It… it's so delicious! I… I… I don't know how it tastes like." Sebastian replied._

 _"Of course you can't! Nobody can describe the taste, boy. Not even me." The old man replied. "Are you here to see my granddaughter?"_

 _"Y… yes."_

 _"No need to be shy, boy! Jane is fine. Follow me!" The little girl's grandfather held Sebastian's shoulder and walked to the cottage. "_ _하늘아_ _,_ _친구왔다_ _! (Haneul, a friend is here!)" The old man called as he opened the door. Immediately, the young Asian girl who approached the raven-haired child few days ago bolted from her bed and ran to her grandfather, hugging him. She was holding a notebook and a pencil in her hand._

 _"Um… hi." Sebastian sheepishly greeted Jane. A small blush formed in his cheeks when he saw her glittery eyes. Jane smiled at him and started writing. She still made inaudible noises because she still couldn't get used to being mute._

 _'Do you want to go play in the fields?'_

 _"Uh…" Sebastian hesitated. By the time he tried to speak, Jane pulled him outside, giggling. Her laugh seemed to be contagious as the boy started to laugh along and chase the farmer's granddaughter around, occasionally falling on the plants._

 _The sun was almost down when Robin was speaking to Jane's grandfather about how her son was doing. Jane and Sebastian were playing Pokémon Platinum on the girl's DS when Robin approached her son. "Sebby, do you want to do a sleepover with Jane today?" She asked. Hearing this, Jane nodded vigorously, making Sebastian sheepishly nod. "Aww, you two are so cute together. Okay, Sebby! See you tomorrow! Have fun!" The carpenter chirped as she waved her son goodbye for the night. After a few hours of playtime, Jane's grandfather told the children to go to bed. When he saw that Jane's bed was actually double-sized, he started to feel awkward about sleeping on the bed. This would be the first time sleeping next to a girl. Jane, in the other hand, on her pajamas, pouted as she dragged him in. She kissed the raven-haired child on the cheek after turning the lamp off, letting Sebastian hide his rosy cheeks with the consuming darkness and Jane's giggles._

Sebastian mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes. He was still groggy due to his unexpected slumber, but he remembered the strange wizard making him drink the so called Potion of Kindness with Jane. Speaking of the farmer, Sebastian felt out of place when he rubbed his eyes. He would normally be greeted by the dark, dusty and nearly empty atmosphere of his basement room, but this was different. The room he was in was too bright and feminine scents ticked his nose. Where was he? Could it be… 'No. Oh no.' Sebastian thought as he looked to his left. What he saw horrified him: He saw Jane sleeping on his arm. The raven-haired boy have a gasp as he bolted up, making Jane wake up from her slumber and give a short scream. "W… what the hell happened?!" Sebastian exclaimed. He was still on the clothes that he wore yesterday while Jane was still in her work attire. Just like the raven-haired boy was, Jane was confused about the situation the two were in with rosy cheeks. Sebastian took a glance at his phone screen to find that it was 5:15 AM. There were sixteen missed calls from his mother along with several SMS from her asking about his whereabouts. 'I'm screwed.' Sebastian thought. He saw Jane looking at her pet Junimo in the name of Iseul, but when he approached the two, he noticed something. It was a voice. No. Jane is mute. It only meant one thing: It was coming from the Junimo.

"You're awake so early?" The Junimo asked. Jane gave a gasp of surprise as she stared at Iseul.

"Don't; you think it could be because of the potion?" Sebastian whispered into Jane's ears.

"You two are one with the Forest! That's how you can understand me." Iseul replied. Sebastian observed Jane and Iseul share a conversation with one another. Jane spoke using her mind while Iseul replied with words. The raven-haired boy continued to observe until he could see the sun rise in the window.

"…I don't need a hut. I feel better sleeping next to you." Iseul concluded. Jane gave a smile as she leaned to kiss the Junimo's forehead.

 _I'll go take a shower._ Jane typed to Sebastian as she walked into the bathroom. When he heard the door close, he turned to Iseul, who was eyeing the farmer too.

"I have some question." Sebastian said.

"Go ahead." Iseul replied.

"…Come to think about it, today's Friday. Do you know what that means?" Sebastian asked as he approached Jane while she was watering her plants. Jane stared at him as if she was waiting for his answer. "It's Saloon Night. Think about all of the things people will say to us." Hearing this, Jane blushed. She would be teased again not only by Abigail or Sam, but by everybody. She pulled out her phone and typed.

 _Today's also her sign-language class. I happened to forget preparing today's class._

"What? Does that mean I don't have to get my homework checked?"

 _I'll at least do that._ Sebastian gave a sigh of defeat as Iseul giggled on Jane's shoulder. With the work done on the farm, the two walked back into the cottage and sat on the table. Jane looked at Sebastian with her signature disarming smile as the raven-haired boy recited his homework. He tried his best to interpret some sentenced with his hands. While doing so, he couldn't help but blush whenever his eyes locked to hers, making Jane blush too. When Sebastian finally completed his last sentence, Jane gave a squeal of delight as she gave him a high-five. _No homework for today._ Jane wrote on her notebook.

"Really? YES!" Sebastian exclaimed with some joking attitude.

 _Do you want to stay here for longer?_ Jane asked.

"I don't mind, but what are we going to do?" A long pause followed and Jane wrote her response.

 _Let's just go outside I want to visit the Library._

"Well, anything's better than staying outside and eye contact." Sebastian grunted as he received a text message from Sam.

 _-Sam Arvidel" Yo wanna come over?_

Uh oh. Sebastian scrambled through his mind to search for solution. By the time he focused back to reality, Jane was peaking at the phone screen. She immediately started scribbling on her note.

 _You can just drop me off at the library and go meet him._ Sebastian couldn't refuse.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Sebastian replied as he received another text from Sam.

 _-Sam Arvidel: Bro?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Sure omw_

 _-Sam Arvidel: k cya_

"Alright, let's go. Sam's gonna whine when I'm late." Sebastian said, helping Jane stand up. The farmer patted the Junimo before setting off to Pelican Town.

Jane and Sebastian arrived at the Stardew Valley Library and Archeology Center to find the place quite empty. There were quite a few books missing in the shelves. The only people that were in the building was Penny and Professor Gunther Von Esling, the owner of the establishment. "Guten Tag, Herr Sebastian! Are you here for the new science fiction books?" Gunther greeted the raven-haired boy with a heavy German accent. As soon as Sebastian shook his head in response., the man turned his attention to Jane. "Ah, I suppose you are the new farmer? Das ist gut! You are always welcome here!" Jane smiled at the professor, and then typed her words for Sebastian.

 _I'll leave it to myself._

"Alright, then. See you. Text me when you're bored of this place, yeah?" Jane nodded as she limped towards Penny. Smiling, Sebastian exited the building and headed to Sam's house. As he walked, he started to question himself. Why would Jane blush whenever his name was mentioned? Most importantly, why does HE blush himself? Recently his mind was starting to be slowly consumed by thoughts of the farmer, making him lose attention to his programming duties. As he thought deeply, he coughed. He wiped his mouth to find blood smothered on his arm. It wasn't just droplets, but a giant patch of it. The red iron-scented liquid dripped to the ground. Shocked, Sebastian quickly wiped it on his black shirt, leaving a darker smudge on it. He continued his walk towards Sam's house where he was greeted by the blonde boy with a high-five. Sam made Sebastian follow him inside his room. It was large and was almost filled with guitars of all sorts. Right next to his bed was a gaming computer with a red drum set beside the machine. "So, why did you invite me? Jamming session's tomorrow, you know." Sebastian asked.

"I know, but I'm here to interrogate you." Sam replied, picked up an electric guitar.

"Well, spit it out."

"Everybody heard about yesterday's event."

"What do you mean?"

"You slept in Jane's cottage."

"Jesus Christ, even YOU know about it?!" Sebastian exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Do you think I would ignore the news about you and Jane? You are an idiot, Seb." Sam replied laughing as he played a riff. "Tell me. What happened?"

"Dude, it's nothing. I swear." Sebastian lied.

"Nope! Tell me, now." Sam refused, standing up and approached Sebastian cheek.

"FINE!" Sebastian snapped. "We went to the wizard's tower."

"…What?"

"The man in there made us drink this…"

"…Booze? That explains everything." Sam scoffed.

"It's not booze!" Sebastian exclaimed. "it's a potion, okay?"

"I don't believe you."

"I didn't expect you to, anyway. How the hell am I going to explain this to mom and Demetrius?" Sebastian asked himself, covering his face.

"Just say that you fell asleep in Jane's farm… or you collapsed because you worked too hard…" Sam suggested. Sebastian thought for a while He was running out of choices. He couldn't think of any other option. Sighing, the raven-haired boy opened his mouth.

"Okay, fine. I'll say that I fell unconscious. This'll be my proof." He said showing the smudge of blood on his shirt.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Blood. Don't ask why." Sebastian replied, sitting on Sam's computer chair. Just as he was about to brose what game this blonde haired boy had…

"You know, I'm going to go pick up Penny."

"I have to escort Jane to the Saloon." Sebastian stood up.

"I knew you had something about her." Sam smirked.

"Shut that pie hole." The raven-haired boy flipped him off.


	16. CHAPTER 15: Sleepover (Jane)

_Do you like teaching children?_ Jane asked Penny with sign language.

"Why, of course I do! It's not easy, but I believe that someone should do the job to teach Vincent and Jas. There is no school here in Pelican Town, you know."

 _I really want to see the children here. I'm sure I'm not the youngest person in Stardew Valley!_

"Well, you're always welcome to the library every Wednesday! I'm sure the children will love you!" Penny laughed. "Anyway, do you happen to have any experience in teaching?" Jane shook her head in response.

 _I did want to establish a school for mute children after I graduate university, but my grandfather saved me from that. It's hard to adapt in Korea when you're disabled._

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Penny replied when Sam and Sebastian entered the library. "Hello, Sam!" Sam chuckled and kissed her lips.

"You jealous, bro?" Sam gloated at Sebastian.

"Just… shut up." Sebastian scoffed as he helped Jane up. "Come on, everybody's waiting for us." He said to Jane as he escorted her out of the Library.

* * *

Before Sebastian opened the door of Stardrop Saloon, Jane stopped him.

 _How are we going to explain this to everyone?_ She typed. Sebastian sighed in response.

"Jane, you're going to have to cooperate with my on this one." Sebastian spoke. Jane nodded. "I'll say that I collapsed due to exhaustion, okay? This will be the proof." He added, showing a dark ruddy smudge on his shirt. "It's blood I don't know how it happened, to be honest." His words made Jane gasp with worry. Knowing why would that happen, she immediately started typing on her phone.

 _I know why this is happening. Do you smoke when I'm not around?_

"Y… yeah." Sebastian confessed.

 _That's your answer. How long have you been smoking?_

"Four years." Sebastian replied with a sigh, making Jane gasp in shock.

 _Why do you do stuff that's hurting your body? Don't you care about us?_ Jane typed. She wanted to scream at him, but all that would come out would be inaudible noises.

"Jane…"

 _Don't ever do this again! Promise me that you'll never smoke again! Please!_ Jane was now sobbing. What was this feeling that she's having right now? _Promise me that you'll give up all of your cigarettes, including that electric one!_

"Jane…" Sebastian said with a crack on his voice. "I'm so sorry. Nobody cared about me smoking, not even Sam and my mom. Y… you're the only one who cared about this." Tears welled up on his eyes. Jane couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears as she crashed onto the raven-haired boy. "I'll promise. I'll take good care of myself and find something else to replace my smoking habit." Jane nodded, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Her tears soaked his shirt. "Thank you for caring about me more than my family does." She nodded again and released him when she saw Sam walking towards them.

"Uh… what the hell were you two doing?" Sam asked the two.

"Nothing. Go away." Sebastian flipped him off before entering the Saloon.

* * *

After confronting countless people who bombarded Jane and Sebastian with questions about yesterday, they finally managed to push their way into the leisure room where Abigail waved at Jane. "Hi, Jane!" The purple-haired girl chirped, patting on the couch. The place where the farmer was about to sit had a red backpack placed. "Oh, sorry." She apologized and moved the bad to the floor beneath her.

 _What's that for?_ Jane asked as she sat down, removing her prosthetic leg.

"Wait, you can remove that?" Abigail asked, surprised. Jane nodded with a strange look as she placed the leg next to her. "Anyway, I have a question." Jane was all ears. "I want to have a sleepover in your house today." So many thought poured into Jane's mind just by one sentence. Sebastian was with her for the entire night and today. Would having another person staying her congested cottage be acceptable? "I can help you in tomorrow's farmworke!" Abigail added. She was now begging. How dire was she, anyway?

'This girl is more clingy than that boy during middle school. Ugh, I don't want to think about it.' Jane thougth as she typed on her phone.

 _Fine._

"Really?! YES!" Abigail exclaimed as she hugged the farmer tightly. Jane shrugged with a grin as she received a facebook message from her brother.

"Who is it?" Abigail asked, but started to blush when she found that it was Minsoo. "No, it's nothing." Abigail assured when Jane gave her a confused look. She then started typing in Korean.

 _-Minsoo Park: Hello!_

 _-Haneul Park: Hi!_

 _-Minsoo Park: How's the farm life? Is it the same as before?_

 _-Haneul Park: It's good!_

Jane paused. Could her brother know about her incident? No. She was the only person to be in contact with him. She was safe, for now.

 _-Minsoo Park: I saw the video that your friend posted._

The text was enough to scare Jane. She hoped that Minsoo wouldn't be overprotective like before.

 _-Minsoo Park: I knew you two would get that close!_

 _-Haneul Park: Give me a break!_

Jane gave a sigh of embarrassment. "What's wrong?" Abigail asked. Jane shook her head. "What did you brother say?" She asked, starting at the chat room. She didn't seem to understand all of the language that was foreign to her.

 _He says that he watched the video that you posted._ Jane replied, making Abigail burst into laughter.

"I saw his comment! Even he knows that you have a crush on Seb!" By her words, Sebastian stopped what he was doing and glared at Abigail.

"Can you please shut up?" Sebastian asked. Sam and Abigail couldn't help but laugh harder, making Jane and Sebastian blush. A message ring pulled Jane back to reality.

 _-Minsoo Park: Anyway, who the hell is Haley?_

Jane paused and stared at Abigail, who was staring at the screen. "I can't understand." She said.

 _-Haneul Park: Do you mind if we chat in English?_

 _-Minsoo Park: Why?_

 _-Haneul Park: Friends._

A long pause followed. Jane smiled when she saw her brother's response in English.

 _-Minsoo Park: Fine_

 _Anyway, where are you?_

"Let's take a selfie!" Abigail suggested. Smiling, Jane and Abigail posed for her facial camera. After a flash, Jane sent the picture to her brother.

 _-Minsoo Park: This definitely isn't your house._

 _-Haneul Park: It's the saloon._

A long pause followed. "What's taking him so long?" Abigail asked. Worried, Jane shrugged when she received a message.

 _-Minsoo Park: Are you kidding me?_

 _How?!_

 _You're not even in Legal Age!_

 _It says that the Legal Age in Ferngill is 19…_

 _…And you're 18!_

 _How the hell did you even enter the saloon anyway?_

"Aren't you nineteen like me?" Abigail asked, after looking at the conversation. Jane shook her head and used her fingers to draw the number 18. "Really?! When's your birthday?"

 _1_ _st_ _of Fall, 2001._

"Wow, I'm going to make you drink then, alright?" Abigail promised, but the farmer stopped her when she received more messages.

 _-Minsoo Park: Are you even seeing my messages?_

 _-Haneul Park: They let a 15-year old in here, anyway._

She was referring to Maru.

 _-Minsoo Park: Do they let you drink?_

 _-Haneul Park: No._

 _-Minsoo Park: That's okay, then._

 _Anyway, who's Haley?_

Jane paused for a while. 'Should I say the truth?' She thought. That blonde-haired girl insulted her multiple times and even violently pushed her to the ground during the Flower Festival. She didn't want to be a tattletale due to past experiences, but she also didn't want to experience what she did back in Korea again. Just as she drowned herself in thought, she noticed that her phone wasn't in her hands, but in the hands of Abigail. She was typing away frantically. Jane snatched it away hastily and saw what her friend had written.

 _-Haneul Park: Haley is a whore that insulted your sister like there is no tomorrow. You don't want to know how horrible she is to all of us. She calls us names and calls Jane 'Chopstick Leg'. Haley pushed her to the ground during the dance festival that I posted a video about._

"I did it for you!" Abigail said with pride. Jane motionlessly stared at the screen. I fact, Minsoo loved Jane so much that he would get enraged whenever somebody insults or touches her uncomfortably. He once almost dragged one of her bullies into a warehouse and tortured him when she was fifteen if she didn't stop him.

 _-Minsoo Park: This isn't my sister._

 _Is this one of her friends?_

 _-Haneul Park: That was Abigail._

 _-Minsoo Park: That explains everything._

 _Mark my words, Haneul._

 _If that girl messes with you again, I'll murder her family._

"Your brother's so cool!" Abigail chirped, but stopped when she saw Jane's frown. "I'm sorry." Jane gave a single nod as she received another message.

 _-Minsoo Park: So, did and mom managed to make a gap in their work._

 _-Haneul Park: A break?_

 _-Minsoo Park: Yup._

 _Wanna know the good news?_

 _We're going to spend it in your farm!_

 _…for a whole month! I'm coming too!_

The message was so dopamine-inducing that it immediately gave Jane a smile. "What did he say?" asked Abigail.

 _My family is coming here at Fall. My brother's coming too!_ Jane typed. Both girls squealed in delight, making Sebastian and Sam, who had recently returned to the leisure room with plates of food, stare at the girls with confusion.

"I'll never understand women." Sebastian muttered. Jane snapped back to reality to find Abigail blushing. Why would SHE get excited for her brother's visit? Does she have a crush on him? "Anyway, here's your food, Jane." The raven-haired boy said as he handed a steaming plate of food. It was a T-bone steak, medium-rare.

 _How did you know that this is my favorite?_ Jane typed, blushing.

"He touched you heart, Jane!" Sam exclaimed, placing a plate of chicken sandwich on Abigail's lap.

"I could spit on your food." Sebastian jokingly threatened as he pointed at a plate of spaghetti on the pool table.

"Why were you two fangirling? Was Jane showing a K-Pop music video again?" Sam asked the two girls.

"Jane's brother's coming over at Fall!" Abigail replied in behalf.

"Looks like we have made ourselves a new person to make fun of Seb with!" Everybody except Sebastian and Jane laughed by his words.

"Abby, why would you get excited?" Sebastian asked, trying to divert the topic. "It's her brother and you've only met him through one Skype Chat!

"She's hiding something, isn't she?" Sam asked. Jane shrugged. She could see Abigail's struggle to hide her blush as she took a bite out of her chicken sandwich.

* * *

Sebastian and Abigail helped Jane back to Agria Farm when it was late night. Just as the raven-haired boy was about to leave, Jane stopped him. _Tomorrow's homework is to learn the vocabulary of page 29 of the sign language book I gave you._ She typed.

"What?! Didn't you say that there's no homework?" Sebastian whined. Jane shrugged jokingly. "You sly fox. Alright, see you tomorrow." He grunted, waving the two girls goodbye. The first thing Abigail did when she entered the cottage was unpack her stuff and pull out her laptop. Jane knew that she was in for a game night. Smiling, the farmer limped to her Xbox and powered it on, booting Battlefield 1 up.

 _Wanna try?_ Jane asked.

"Sure!" Abigail complied as she took the controller and played. Of course, she wasn't good at it. Her average life-span was approximately twenty-five seconds. Jane noticed that Abigail always get run over by Armored Cars or get shot by a sniper. "Ugh! I can't do this! Jane, you try!" With a grin, Jane took the controller and did her best. As usual, Jane won the match. "You… you're like a hand of magic, you know?" Abigail commented. Jane shrugged in reply. After some more videogame time, it was already 11 o'clock at night.

 _Wanna watch a movie?_ Jane asked.

"Ooh, are we going to watch a Korean Drama?" Abigail asked, but Jane shook her head.

 _It's horror._

"Horror? I'd love to! What are we going to watch? The Conjuring? SAW?" Once again, Jane shook her head. She rummaged through her movie collection to find Train to Busan, the most popular Korean zombie horror movie.

"Train to Busan?! Wow, I've always wanted to watch this!"

 _Then sit on the bed! I'll get the popcorn._ Jane typed as she put the DVD in the TV player. For the entirety of the movie, Abigail had to hide behind the blanket of Jane's bed while Jane showed absolutely no change in emotion. She loved horror movies so much that jumpscares and bloodshed didn't scare her at all. There was one time where Abigail literally threw the plastic bowl across the cottage, spilling the popcorn inside due to a jumpscare. Jane ordered her to pick them up after the credits started rolling. When Jane turned the lights off for slumber, Abigail snuggled beside her.

"You Korean make the best horror movies." Abigail whispered.

 _Scared?_ Jane typed. Abigail nodded.

"How are you not scared at all?"

 _Watch a lot of these and they'll be alright._ She typed as she kissed the purple-haired girl's cheek and fell into deep slumber.


	17. CHAPTER 16: Attempt (Sebastian)

As soon as he closed the door of his room, Sebastian sat on his desk and opened his sign language book. It was as if a thunderstorm suddenly made its way in a clear blue sky. He turned to page 29 and started learning the vocabulary. The homework that Jane had given to him didn't seem too difficult as there were only twenty words to memorize. After spending two hours on it, Sebastian felt that he was well prepared for tomorrow. He powered his computer on and turned on Overwatch. All he needed to do now was wait for Sam to log in. Five minutes has passed and there was still no response. The raven-haired boy unlocked his phone and called Sam. "Sam, where the hell are you? I've been waiting for five minutes for you!" He said once his friend received the phone.

"Hey, Seb. I'm with Penny right now." Sam said.

"Well, what does that have to do with… oh wait."

"Yeah, she called me into her trailer. So, I'm here while Penny was talking to me about… personal issues."

"Yeah, personal stuff. Yeah." Sebastian said, trying to make a sexual joke.

"Seb, this isn't a joke! You know what's with her!" Sam replied with an annoyed tone. That's strange. He isn't a type of guy who would be annoyed.

"Sorry. So… I guess no Overwatch today?"

"Yup, sorry. Goodnight."

"'Night." Sebastian sighed after ending the call. He turned off Overwatch. He wouldn't have if Abigail was with Jane. He would have played a few rounds with her and… Sebastian paused his thought train. Currently, Jane has been using her phone to communicate with the townspeople except Harvey, Penny and the Wizard. Every time the farmer would have a conversation with him, Jane would end up with throbbing fingers when they part ways. Sebastian knew that should this continue and his sign language not improve, Jane would end up with carpel tunnels. 'No, that's not going to happen.' He thought. All of this sparked determination to learn sign language. For some reason, he was more than ready to sacrifice his sleep time to attempt talking to Jane by using only sign language. He opened his sign language book, turned on Google Chrome and searched multiple dictionaries for him to use.

* * *

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"One hour of sleep…" Sebastian grunted as he begrudgingly rose from his bed. As he had said, he had fallen asleep at five in the morning. The alarm rang at six. 'How am I going to stay awake today… Jesus, I have jamming sessions today with Sam.' He thought as he crawled to his bathroom to get washed up. After changing to one of his dark shirts, Sebastian made his way out of the Carpenter's shop while not bothering about eating breakfast. While he walked down the mountain through the road to Agria Farm, Sebastian wondered if all the hours he had spent to learn sign language was worth it. It was as if he was about to take school examinations just like he did three years ago. However, those days are now past. Sebastian reminded himself that he was doing this for his friend. He decided to practice what he had learned last night. As he approached the entrance of the farm, Sebastian noticed that someone was working in the farm. He knew that it was Jane, but she was being helped by someone. 'Who is it?' Sebastian thought as he walked through the gate.

"Hey! Jane! Your crush is here!" The second figure shouted. Sebastian scoffed when he found that it was Abigail.

"Shut up!" Sebastian shouted as Jane stopped what she was doing and happily waved at him. "Hey, Jane. I guess I'm not needed anymore?" He asked his farmer friend.

 _She's only here for today. I'll always want your help._ Jane typed on her phone, blushing.

"Yeah? Well, looks like I'm not useless after all." Sebastian replied with rosy cheeks.

"Aww, you two are destined to be together!" Abigail cooed, walking towards the two. Sebastian grunted as he flipped her off. As he stared at Jane motionlessly, Sebastian reminded himself of what he wanted to do since last night. Yes. He took a deep breath, held his hands up and started moving them around in motions that were familiar to Jane.

 _Hello. How. Are. You._

With every word that Sebastian pulled off, Sebastian could see a smile on Jane grow bigger and bigger. When he managed to pull out a sentence, Jane started to hop around gleefully while squealing like a child. "Whoa, settle down!" Sebastian said. When Jane did as he said, she prepared her hands for communication.

 _I'm fine!_ Okay. He understood that. _Did you eat ?_

'Uh-oh. What does that last word mean?' He thought. Sebastian thought for a while. She did mention the word 'eat'. Could the word he was looking for be 'breakfast'? 'Maybe. It could be.' Sebastian thought as he shook his head. He really wished he had a jug of espresso right now.

 _We're about to go eat breakfast now!_ Jane signaled. _We're going to eat breakfast!_ She typed and showed her phone to Abigail.

"Yeah!" The purple-haired girl chirped as she ran to the cottage.

"She's kind of a bit hyper about this, don't you think?" Sebastian asked Jane when he saw the purple-haired girl close the door behind her. "Not to mention going inside the house without your permission." Jane nodded in reply as the raven-haired boy escorted her into her cottage.

* * *

After a quick breakfast of milk and cereal, Sebastian and Jane observed as Abigail started packing her backpack. Once the purple-haired girl left the cottage, the two will start their sign language lesson. In his mind, Sebastian filled his thoughts with sign language. "Okay, you two! Have a nice date!" Abigail said as she waved the two goodbye, making Sebastian grunt with frustration.

"Jesus Christ, Abby." He grunted as Abigail opened the door, only to stop.

"What's this?" Abigail asked herself as she looked down on her left side. "Jane, you have a parcel!" She said. Curious, Jane limped outside to check on what she was talking about. Sebastian followed to find a relatively large box approximately the size of a CRT TV.

"What do you think this is?" Sebastian asked with Jane shrugging in response. "I think we should see what's inside." He suggested.

"Yeah, I think we should." Abigail agreed, going back inside.

"Why would you be part of this?"

"Why? Can't I do something with a friend?"

"What if it's personal stuff? What if…" Jane stopped Sebastian there.

 _I don't mind._ She typed on her phone.

"Very well, then." The raven-haired boy concluded as he hoisted the box with his arms and followed Jane inside. When the farmer closed the door behind her, Sebastian placed the box on the table and sat on a chair along with the two girls. Jane limped to her computer desk and pulled out her army knife and proceeded to cut the tape that sealed the box. When she opened the cardboard, she saw a piece of paper that looked like a letter. Sebastian waited patiently as the farmer read it. As she read it, however, tears rolled from her eyes. 'Maybe it's from her family. Gosh, I miss my dad.' He thought.

"What did it say?" Abigail asked Jane.

 _It's a present from mom. She said that my family and my friends love me and misses me._ Jane replied, wiping her tears.

"Aww, that's so sweet."

"Maybe." Sebastian added.

"That's a strange way to continue the conversation." Abigail said.

"Whatever. What's inside the box?" Sebastian asked Jane. The farmer simply held her palm to signal him to wait as she pulled out a smaller box with a drawing of what looked like some sort of golden fruit drawn on it. After placing it on the table, she pulled out a relatively big paper bag. After seeing what's inside, Jane happily typed on her phone.

 _It's Asian pear!_

"Asian pear? Sounds interesting." Sebastian replied, touching the box. Jane opened it and pulled a pear out. It looked like a wide apple with a skin that made the fruit look like a golden apple from Minecraft.

"Wow, will that fruit give me two more hearts and fire resistance?" Abigail jokingly asked. Jane happily shrugged as she cut the fruit into six equal slices. She took a bit out of one and gave a squeal of joy.

'She must have missed this fruit.' Sebastian thought. Jane then handed one to her two friends. Abigail immediately popped it into her mouth. Seeing this, Sebastian gave a nod and took a bite out of the fruit. As soon as the slice made contact with his tongue, its sweet and sour juices coated his mouth. Whenever his teeth crushed the flesh of the fruit, it gave him a sensation of tiny beads rolling around his mouth, slightly tickling his tongue. Sebastian had never tasted something like this before. Unlike the pears that could be bought in the General Store, this was far more better. "Wow, this is… really tasty!" Sebastian complimented after swallowing the flesh. He immediately grabbed another and devoured it quickly. Jane blushed as she smiled at him.

"Aww, Seb!" Abigail cooed.

"I didn't say that to YOU!" Sebastian flipped her off. "Anyway, what's in that paper bag?" He asked. Jane grinned as she flipped the bag upside down, spilling its contents on the table. They were five containers of tree saplings!

"Oh, my, god! Jane, are those the pear trees?!" Abigail exclaimed as she held a container. Jane nodded in reply, but gave a sigh of worry. "What's wrong?"

 _I don't know how to plant these._ Jane typed.

"I'll ask my dad for help! Come with me after your date lesson with Seb!" Abigail chirped.

"Seriously, Abigail?" Sebastian scoffed.

* * *

With Abigail finally gone from Agria Farm, Jane could finally be ready for today's lecture. Sebastian noticed that she was acting a little bit faster than usual, but why? Could it because of his actions earlier? 'Okay, Seb. Remember what you've practiced.' He reminded himself as Jane pulled a chair and sat down, placing her books on the table. Sebastian sat on his chair and took a deep breath. _I. Have. Practiced. Last. Night._ Sebastian said through sign language, making Jane smile so wide that her white teeth shined by the sunlight.

 _I'm happy that you did!_ Jane replied with sign language. Sebastian sighed in relief. At least he understood what that meant. _Did you do your ?_

"Uh… I'm sorry, what does that mean?" Sebastian involuntarily asked. Pouting, Jane opened her friend's notebook and wrote 'homework' on one of the pages. 'So that's what it meant.' He thought as he made a mental note. He was glad that he was improving, but he was worried about the drowsiness that was consuming him bit by bit. _Let. Us. Start._ He signaled as he opened his sign language book. Firstly, he recited his homework of his weekly vocabulary. As he practiced it for hours last night, it was extremely easy for Sebastian, although he made a few mistakes in the words 'routine' and 'engage'. When he finished, Jane gave a squeal of delight as she lunged forward to embrace the raven-haried boy. Both of them had rosy cheeks as she released each other.

 _Let's start today's lesson._ Jane wrote on his notebook as she opened her sign language book. Just as she pointed at a word in the book, Sebastian stopped her.

"Hey, uh… is it okay if we do it in my room?" He asked.

 _Why?_

"I mean… I'm not saying that I'm uncomfortable in here, but I think my room is a good place for a lesson. You know, I have coffee table…" He paused when he saw Jane give him a confused look. "…You know what? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have suggested that. I…" Jane stopped him. She gave a nod of approval as as she closed her books and stood up. 'I hope she doesn't know that I'm sleepy as hell.' Sebastian thought as he escorted her out of Agria Farm and to the Carpenter's Shop.


	18. CHAPTER 17: Stay (Jane)

Just as Sebastian was about to walk down the porch, Jane slapped his shoulder gently as to tell Sebastian something. "Huh? What's wrong?" He asked.

 _I'm tired._ Jane typed.

"Tired, you say? Does that mean no class today?" He beamed with hope. Jane couldn't help but to giggle about how she gave her friend false hope as she shook her head in denial. "Oh, what?!"

 _Go get your motorcycle. It's going to rain all day._

"Alright, fine. Wait here. Don't think about giving me more work while I'm gone!" Jane gave a shrug as she saw Sebastian walk out north up the mountain.

'That'll give me time to rest.' Jane thought as she collapsed on her bed. It was such a painful task to teach Abigail how to use farm tools and pull out crops. It would have unloaded the farmer's burden if she at least knew the basics. Without Abigail knowing anything about farming, the trouble Jane had to face was equivalent to building a three meter snowman in the Sahara Desert while performing a somersault. She remembered how Abigail accidentally trampled on five strawberry plants, crushing the fruits on the soil. In the end, the purple-haired girl had caused 600 Galleons worth of damage, but Jane simply nodded it off despite her friend's clingly apology. 'I'm not letting her help next time.' She thought when their work was done.

Jane knew that it would take about fifteen minutes for Sebastian to return with his vehicle, so she powered her Xbox on and played a few rounds of Battlefield 1. Since the map of the quick match was Sinai Desert, she decided to go for scout. She spawned in Objective C with the Lever-Action Russian 1897 sniper rifle on hand. Although she normally uses the Martini-Henry, she didn't mind using this rifle. In fact, she missed using scopes. She hitched a ride from her squad mate riding a motorcycle as it dashed to the northern cliffs. This was the perfect spot for snipers. The entire map was visible from here, letting Jane see her enemies pinpointed by her squad mates. She lied on the ground, aimed her rifle and picked on the vulnerable enemies one by one. When she expended almost all of her ammunition, Jane relocated herself to the nearest ammunition pouch and took position right beside it as it gave her ammunition needed for her kills. She continued to snipe on this position until she heard machine-gun fire louder than the muffled gunshots from afar. Immediately, she knew that an enemy was approaching. Retracting her Russian 1897, Jane readied her sidearm, which was the… Kolibri?! Jane was shocked. She was wielding the smallest and weakest gun in the game! She grunted in frustration as the enemy player gunned her character down. She normally used the standard 1911 pistol, but having the Kolibri was ridiculous. Half of her mind blamed Abigail while the other half blamed herself for not checking her loadout before deployment.

Time seemed to fly for Jane when she heard hummings of a engine followed by three knocks on the door. Knowing that it was Sebastian, she turned all electronic devices off, packed her books and pencils then greeted the raven-haried boy with a smile. "You ready to go?" Jane nodded in response to Sebastian's question. With a positive reply, Sebastian escorted her to the bike, strapped her aboard and set off up the mountain. Rain was slowly starting to trickle down from the sky.

* * *

The two stopped at their destination as the rain was becoming heavier. As usual, Robin immediately greeted Jane with a tight hug when the two teenagers entered the Carpenter's Shop. "Are you here for Sebby's teaching?" Robin asked with a widest smile Jane had ever seen. The farmer nodded in response, making the carpenter chuckle. "Alright, then! You two have fun while I fix some lunch for you two! And Sebby, I never expected for you to learn sign language in our house!" She said to Sebastian.

"Whatever, mom. Come on, Jane. Mom's going to explode into confetti if we do it in the kitchen." Sebastian replied, escorting Jane to the basement.

"I'll call you two when lunch is ready!" Robin called from the kitchen.

 _Won't your room drip?_ Jane asked.

"Nah, don't worry. Mom at least cares about me unlike Demetrius." Sebastian replied with a sigh. "Why the hell would that guy hate me, anyway?" He muttered to himself as he opened his room door. Jane was greeted by the basement's usual dark environment. It seemed even darker since it was raining heavily outside. Unlike the last time she was here, the room was surprisingly organized. The bed was made, desk and coffee table was void of mugs, board games and books. The only downside to this room was how dusty it was. The difference between the air in here and the rest of the house was extremely obvious as Jane had small problem breathing. It was usual, though. "Right. Let's sit down." Sebastian said with a big yawn as he sat Jane down on the coffee table. Jane immediately unpacked her backpack and opened her sign language book and notebook. She then unzipped her pencil case and took out her favorite mechanical pencil.

 _Where were we?_ Jane wrote.

"We were at… wait, we didn't start today."

 _Turn to page 47._

Sebastian obeyed. He turned to the said page where the last images of sign language vocabulary was posted. "Hey, we're at the last page!" Surprised, Jane flipped to the next page. It was the next chapter: _Basic Grammar_. This gave Jane an idea.

 _Can you try making ten sentences with sign language?_ Jane scribbled.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure." Sebastian replied as he cleared his throat. "Wait, that was stupid." He grumbled, stimulating Jane's laugh. "Okay. Here goes sentence one…" Jane had her eyes peeled.

 _My. Life. Is. Boring._ Jane gave a nod of approval.

 _I ordered. A. hamburger. Yesterday. Night._ Another nod.

 _Can. I kiss. You?_

'What, what?!' Jane shouted in her mind as she flustered. She didn't expect him to say that. 'Friends. Friends. Friends.' She reminded herself.

"What did I just say?" Sebastian asked himself, peeking at his book. "Oh damn. Looks like I've used the wrong word."

 _It's okay._ Jane wrote.

"Alright then." He returned to his hands.

 _Do. You. Want. To. Go. To. The…_ Sebastian paused. Jane gave him a funny look as he looked like he was hesitating.

"Mines… Mines… I remember looking this up!"

 _That's not part of the vocabulary._ Jane wrote.

"I know. But still, I really want to make my own sentences! I've learned to do this in Greek and Spanish classes back at high school!" Sebastian replied. Jane was surprised. She had never expected this boy to be so determined to learn something. During the first days of his learning, he seemed to begrudgingly learn sign language from her because of her loss of temper after the fight between Robin and Sebastian. However, ever since the Flower Festival, he seemed to be slowly changing. Jane didn't want to complain about it. In fact, she was happy that somebody was willing to learn what she knew, but all of this confused her in some way. It was just one dance. Why would he change so much? However, Jane knew that this was all questions not worth looking for answers. She gestured Sebastian to continue. "O… okay." He said.

In the end, he managed to successfully finish his assignment with a very deep yawn. As he closed his mouth, Jane noticed very dark bags below his eyes.

 _Didn't you sleep?_ Jane asked.

"I did." He said. She knew that he was lying. If the things that she had learned from Korean romance dramas were right, giving a cute whine and maybe burying her face on a boy's shoulder would make him do anything. Although it may embarrass her, it was worth trying. She hasn't done this in ten years, anyway. Clearing her throat, she gave her best pouting face and threw her head to Sebastian's shoulder. She whined with a high pitch as she rubbed her forehead on his shirt in plea.

'I need to remember to not do this ever again.' She thought as she pulled away from the act with a burning face. She found that Sebastian had rosy cheeks too.

"I… yeah. I only slept for one hour trying to learn all of this." The raven-haired boy spat out the truth, pointing at his books. Jane gasped in disbelief. He sacrificed so much just for her? Wow. She once again threw herself to Sebastian while dropping tiny traces of tears. Oh, how much she wanted to say thank you if she weren't mute. Just before she released him, Robin entered the room, giving all three people a chance to gasp.

"Oh, you two! I knew you guys would be so close!" Robin teased.

"Friends! We're friends!" Sebastian yelled in embarrassment. Jane scooted away from him with regret swallowing her whole. She was even more embarrassed than him and everybody could tell.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Sebastian asked Jane after lunch. They walked down and sat on the coffee table so that Jane could write her response.

 _I'm so happy that you invested so much for me._ Jane wrote.

"Well, I didn't want you to get carpel tunnels." Sebastian replied just as Robin entered the room with a tray of two glasses of orange juice.

"You two are way too adorable! I think you two should da…"

"MOM!" Sebastian have a shout with rosy cheeks, cutting Robin off.

"Alright, then! Have fun, you two!" The carpenter said as she walked out of the room. The two teenagers diverted their attention back to the studies as Jane taught Sebastian more things in sign language. This time, it was more difficult with more complicated vocabulary. As the raven-haired boy made many mistakes, he acted like he committed a great sin. However, once he finally managed to pull off the thing correctly, Jane had to contain the large smile that she was forced to make.

 _I need to go to the toilet._ Jane suddenly wrote.

"Wh-what? Sure. Take your time." Sebastian replied as he helped Jane up back to her feet. Jane then limped her way alone into the restroom and locked the door behind her. After taking her bathroom break, she washed her hands and limped out of the toilet to find… Sebastian sleeping on the coffee table. Sighing, Jane sat down beside him and shook him in attempt to wake him up but with no success. He was fast asleep. Staying silent, Jane listened to the rain pour down on the ground above her. The sound mesmerized her until she daydreamed of the rainy kiss scenes from soap operas. She snapped back to reality when Robin entered the room with some news.

"Jane, you're going to have to stay here for the night. The rain is too heavy for you and Sebby to go outside. Yoba, I hope it won't flood down there." Jane nodded in response. "Say, is Sebby sleeping?" Another nod. "Oh, dear. I knew that his work will take the toll." Jane shrugged by Robin's words, but deep inside her, the mischievous side of her snapped. She gestured the carpenter to come to her and quickly scribbled on her own notebook. "What is it, sweetie?" Robin asked as she bent over to see what the farmer had written.

 _Do you have a marker?_

"Why, there's plenty of them on Sebby's desk. Why?"

 _Let's draw stuff on his face!_

"Oh, Jane! Just like that night in the Saloon? Of course! Let me get us both one…" Robin giggles as she grabbed two black markers. She handed one to Jane. "Oh, my artistic side is tingling!" The carpenter chuckled as Jane positioned the sleeping boy's face to the sky and slowly and carefully started to draw on his face. Just as she finished drawing, Robin snapped her fingers. "Jane, wait here. I'll go grab my makeup set!" She said. Jane couldn't control her giggle as Robin bolted out of the room and quickly came back with a small leather pouch. She handed Jane a lipstick while she proceeded to apply mascara on Sebastian's eyelids. After Jane had the fun coloring the raven-haired boy's lips, she received permission to use Robin's skin taint and proceeded to lightly tap the powder on his cheeks.

The final product was a complete masterpiece. Sebastian's sleeping face was covered in makeup with cat whiskers and cute faces sticking their tongues out drawn. Jane gave Robin a high-five while trying their best to not wake Sebastian up. "That was fun! Thanks for the idea, Jane!" Robin whispered as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Jane found Sebastian sleeping even after six hours plus dinner. She was now in Maru's pajamas and was holding mattresses for her to sleep on. Robin and Demetrius came in the room to hoist the sleeping boy onto his bed. Jane still couldn't help but to giggle at his face. It was too funny and …too adorable. Realizing that she was very tired and the clock struck eleven, Jane laid her mattress right beside Sebastian's bed and sat on it with her chin resting on the bed as she observed Sebastian silently sleeping. She wondered why would she feel something strange whenever she was with him. Could it be what she thought it would be…? No. He's just a friend to her. Just as she gave a sigh, she heard a chirp. This wasn't from a bird. It was… Iseul?

'Iseul! What are you doing here?' Jane asked with her mind.

"I was lonely!" Iseul replied silently.

'What if they see you?'

"You two are one with the forest! Others except the wizard can't." Jane gave a sigh of relief.

'How did you get here, anyway?'

"I teleported here! You know us."

'Right. Look, Iseul. I need to go to sleep. I'm sorry if I can't talk with you right now. I have so many questions I want to ask you, but not now.'

"It's okay, Jane. I know that you're feeling something about Sebastian."

'What? No! I…I mean, maybe. I'll ask you tomorrow.' Jane confesses as she kissed the Junimo on the forehead and laid on her mattress. She fell into slumber as she was chatting with her Korean friends.


	19. CHAPTER 18: Summer (Sebastian)

With a grunt, Sebastian slowly opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by pitch black. The song of the rain whispered to his ears from the ceiling and walls, signaling him that it was still raining. Sighing, Sebastian snuggled deeper onto his bedsheets.

Wait… BEDSHEETS?

Sebastian immediately scoured through his memories to remember what happened. Upon gathering what was in his mind, he found out that he had fallen asleep on the coffee table when Jane left for a bathroom break. The lack of sleep yesterday had taken its toll.

'Not again…' Sebastian thought. Jane might have left before supper, disappointed of him. Sebastian started to feel regret crawling on his skin, which made his heart race. He gave a sigh as he closed his eyes and let the sound of the heavy rain outside pull him back to slumber, but as he almost drifted into deep sleep, something made him sit straight up as if somebody shocked him with a taser. If Jane left in this weather, the suffering that she may have endured during her way down would be unthinkable. All of this made Sebastian feel self-hatred for being so irresponsible. Other than that, his drowsiness was nowhere to be found. He set foot on the ground expecting it to hit the wooden floor. Instead, it felt cloth.

"Hm?" Sebastian hummed as he shuffled his foot around. He didn't remember having any sort of garment laying around, especially when Jane was here. He stretched his legs to feel something else. This time, it was soft and solid. That's strange. He decided to go turn on the lights. He touched his way to the light switch and turned it on, not knowing what waited behind him. He turned around to find…

"Jane?!" He gasped. Indeed, the mute farmer was sleeping undisturbed on a mattress beside Sebastian's bed with her phone in hand. Sleeping right next to her was Iseul, the junimo. Iseul woke up and faced Sebastian.

"What's wrong?" It asked.

"What are you two doing here?" Sebastian hissed.

"I'm here to keep Haneul safe!"

"Who the hell is Haneul?" Iseul stared at Jane, who was whispering inaudible noises.

"…Jane?"

"You didn't know until now?"

"None of us knows! She never told us her Korean name." Sebastian admitted, sitting back down on the bed groggily.

"I don't know why she wouldn't, but that doesn't matter. She seemed to accept both names from her parents from a machine you humans call 'computer'." Sebastian could only nod at the junimo.

"Do you know why she's sleeping here?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't know that. What matters is that she's here and I feel like I have to be next to her. We both feel safe together."

"I get it. I'll ask mom during breakfast. Say, what do you guys eat?"

"Haneul feeds me with fruit. The golden fruit that she gave me was delicious!" It was talking about the Asian Pear. Scratching his head, Sebastian took a glance at Jane. As he stared at her undisturbed face, he couldn't help but think about how adorable she was. Despite continuously reminding himself that she was just a friend, every time she smiled at him or squealed whenever he did something correctly during her lectures, his heart would skip a beat. She looked so pure. She looked like an angel. She…

He pushed the thoughts away. He turned his head to his computer. 'Did I have any work left behind…?' he thought as he tiptoed his way to it and powered it on. There were none, fortunately. His last client had been satisfied two days ago. He checked the clock to find that it was 3 AM.

"You should sleep." Iseul suggested.

"Right. Thanks, Iseul." Sebastian replied as he turned the computer back off. He turned off the lights and walked back to his bed with the aid of his phone flashlight. He stopped when he saw Jane's face once again. He couldn't help it. He wanted to touch her cheeks, just to see how it felt like. He would be slapped should she wake up. Making his decision, he slowly leaned and gently stroke Jane's cheek with his index finger. It was so smooth. Closing his eyes, tight, he kissed her cheek before quickly bolting to his bed while his face turned into a tomato.

* * *

Sebastian woke up by familiar laughter from two people. He grunted as he slowly opened his eyes to find two girls. He could easily find out that the first one was Jane. It took him time, but he finally realized that the second was Maru.

"Breakfast is ready, couch potato!" Maru chirped.

"Maru?! What the hell are you doing in my room?!" Sebastian bolted up. Jane typed something on her phone and showed it to him. He rubbed his eyes to see what was written.

 _You look pretty!_

"Pretty?" Sebastian asked with confusion. He was so embarrassed. Two girls observing him sleep? Unthinkable. Jane and Maru couldn't help but giggle harder to the point where Sebastian's half-sister clenched her belly and rolled around the mattress that Jane slept on. "You two, get out. I'm going to change." He said, shooing the girls from his room. He walked into his bathroom to wash up. As he faced the mirror, horror awaited him and gave him a mental shock that full woke him up. His face was covered in makeup and faces drawn! There were also some Korean written, such as 'ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ' '세비오빠바보~'. He gave a groan of defeat as he collapsed on the sink. He washed his face with soap before brushing his teeth until his face was squeaky clean. He dried up, removed his sweat-drenched hoodie and wore a white T-shirt. It was the first day of Summer and the weather was already scorching hot. He sometimes didn't understand the sudden spike of temperature whenever the season changed.

Robin, Maru and Jane greeted Sebastian to the dining table with smiles and giggles. Demetrius didn't even glance at him as he was concentrating on the newspaper flapping around by the wind the fan generated. "Hello, pretty boy!" Robin cheekily said.

"Not you, mom…" Sebastian grunted as he took a seat next to Jane. Robin filled his plate with some bacon and eggs. "Hi, Jane." Jane gave a smile in response.

"I told you that you shouldn't push yourself so hard." Robin said, cutting a piece of bacon.

"Huh?"

"I mean, look Sebby. I understand that you're working hard, but think about your health! Other than that, you'll face unforeseen consequences like what happened yesterday!" Robin replied with a grin. Sebastian gave a funny look as he took a bite of an egg. He looked at Jane to find her giggling out of control. Suddenly, it hit him.

"You were behind this, weren't you?!" Sebastian glared at the farmer. Jane couldn't help but nod heavily and burst into laughter. Robin couldn't help but laugh along. "You too, mom?!"

"She suggested me! I just helped on the makeup!"

"THAT'S WORSE!" The raven-haired boy practically yelled, but calmed down when he saw Demetrius's glare. Sighing, he continued with his food. Once he and Jane emptied their plates, he helped her up as she placed her plate in the sink.

"Jane, I forgot to mention that your Spring crops may have died. You know that, right?" Robin asked. Jane nodded.

 _Mrs. Mullner told me._ Jane typed. She was talking about Evelyn, Alex's grandmother. _I'll go buy new crops._

"Sure, Jane! Sebby, you've heard her!" Robin said to her son.

"Okay, mom. Come on, Jane. Let's go." Sebastian said, taking Jane outside to his motorcycle.

* * *

The two teenagers stopped by the General Store to purchase new seeds. Jane selected a dozen tomato seed packets, melon seeds and a box full of wheat seeds. Just as she went to purchase, Pierre suggested her to try some blueberries. She accepted, which Sebastian bought a box of it. He paid for the blueberries. He then drove Jane back to Agria farm where they started their work. The farm was now practically filled with husks of plants that Jane used to grow. She took a scythe and tried to cut out the husks, but tripped on the ground after a few swipes.

"Here, let me help." Sebastian said, taking the tool from the girl's hand. He swished and slashed his way around the farmland, making sure that no trace of dead plant remained. When the farmland was clear, Jane picked up the seed packets while Sebastian grabbed the hoe and began official work. Jane sowed the seeds on the patches of already-tilled soil while Sebastian helped expand the soil if she ran out of space. The raven-haired boy asked her where she would like to sow the individual seeds and she would point at the spot she thought would fit the best. With the last wheat seed sowed, Sebastian and Jane took turns watering the seeds. When they were done, Sebastian received a phone call from Sam.

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"Yo, bro! Abby and Penny told us to be in the beach!" Sam said through the speaker.

"Beach? What for?"

"No clue, bro! Maybe they want us to be in swimming trunks?"

"Tell them to go to hell!" Sebastian grunted. Although it was hotter than a pizza oven right now, he dared not show his bare skin to his friends. Just as he was about to end the call, Jane tapped him in the shoulder and showed her phone. Facebook was on and she was chatting with Abigail.

 _Abigail Berneau: Hey Jane!_

 _Haneul Park: Hi, Abby!_

 _Abigail Berneau: Wanna come play in the beach?_

Sebastian moved his eyes back to Jane. He could see that she was pleading him to go. "Bro? Are you there?" Sam asked. Sighing, he rolled his eyes as he focused back on his phone.

"…Fine. ONLY because Jane wants to!" Sebastian said.

"Alright, bro! Can't wait for you to man up and confess to Jane!"

"SAM!" Sebastian yelled, but the blonde-hair ended the call laughing. "Jane, do you have some sort of swimsuit?" Jane nodded. "Okay. I'll come back with my own and we'll go there, okay?" Jane happily nodded as she limped her way back into the cottage.

'What is happening…' He thought as he mounted his motorcycle and sped back up the mountain.

Sebastian returned to Agria Farm wearing his usual white T-Shirt and a pair of green swimming trunks. He was wearing a black backpack with a towel and a extra pair of clothes inside. He knocked on the cottage door. The door opened slowly, revealing Jane's face peeking from inside. "Uh… are you okay?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded, but when he tried to come inside, she prevented him. She was embarrassed. "Do you have anything to… uh… cover yourself up? I'll wait here." Jane shook her head. Suddenly, something snapped in his mind. "Hey, I forgot to return this to you." He said, opening his bag and pulled out her brother's military uniform. Jane gasped and smiled at him with gratitude. She closed the door, making Sebastian wait. He gazed at the sunlight-drenched farmland when the door opened again. Jane came out wearing the oversized uniform that covered almost all of her body, including her knees. She was wearing sunglasses, straw hat and was holding a cylindrical Pokémon handbag on her left shoulder.

'Jesus, her brother must be TALL!' Sebastian thought. "Alright, let's go." He said as he escorted Jane to the eastern exit by foot. The trip to the beach lasted thirteen minutes, but when the two got there, they were greeted by Abigail, Sam and Penny on their swimsuits. Other than the people, the crashing waves and the squeaking of seagulls welcomed them, too. Abigail was on her black sports bikini, Sam was on blue swimming trunks while Penny was wearing a frilly sky-blue swimming dress.

"Hey guys! It's the dream couple!" Sam shouted when he saw Sebastian with Jane. Sebastian flipped him off as he helped Jane waddle through the hot sand. The two girls stood up from their towels and greeted the two. Abigail gave Sebastian a cheeky grin.

"I saw the picture!" Abigail remarked.

"Wait, PICTURE?!" Sebastian asked, looking at Jane. Once again, Jane burst into laughter as she fell on the soft sand. She immediately crawled to the nearest towel with the help of Abigail, still laughing. Once done, the purple-haired girl showed a picture of his sleeping his face with makeup drawn on it. Worst of all, it was on Facebook. The picture that Jane posted had already received fifteen likes and twelve comments, which most were in Korean. "Really, Jane?!" He glared at the farmer. Jane nodded while still trying her best to contain her laughter without success. Grunting, Sebastian collapsed under a parasol.

"Jane, what are you wearing?" Penny asked, pointing at Jane's uniform. "Is that a military uniform?" Jane nodded.

"Who's is it?" Abigail asked, taking a look at the name tag. 박민수 it read. Before Jane could reach for her phone, Abigail stopped her. "Wait, wait! I can read this! Park… M-Min… Seo? No, that's not right. Soo… Park Minsoo… Is this your brother's uniform?!" Jane nodded, making Abigail blush.

'What's with her and Jane's brother?' Sebastian thought, staring at the commotion.

"You should take that off!" Sam said, adjusting his sunglasses. Penny glared at him, making him look away in fear. "Sorry, Pen." He apologized. Sebastian saw Jane's embarrassed face as she nearly crouched into a ball.

"Come on, Jane! Turn Seb on! You can do it, girl!" Abigail said.

"Hey!" Sebastian shouted, but Abigail laughed it off. Slowly, she pulled her uniform over her head to reveal what she had. She was wearing a see-through T-shirt with a striped Blue-white-orange bikini. Her prosthetic leg was covered with a waterproof casing. Everybody's focus was on her form, but Sebastian stared at her with a slightly opened jaw. Not only she was adorable, she was… sexy?

"Wow, you're sexy, girl!" Abigail giggled. Jane couldn't help but blush even heavier. Despite the compliments, Sebastian saw that she was still very embarrassed.

"Well, take her to the water and she'll be fine… I guess." The raven-haired boy suggested, and Penny and Abigail immediately tugged the farmer to the water. Soon enough, Jane was splashing water against her friends while giggling. Her prosthetic arm seemed to give her a disadvantage as it had a slow reaction time, however.

"So, what do you think about Jane, huh?" Sam sat next to him.

"Huh? She's just a friend. If she's happy, I'm fine with it." Sebastian replied.

"Aw, Seb. You really shouldn't put her into the friendzone."

"Go to hell."

"Hey, wanna go in the water?"

"How about no?" Despite Sebastian's refusal, Sam turned to the girls and yelled.

"Hey guys! Let's give Seb a little motivation, should we?" Immediately, Abigail came out of the water and ran to the raven-haired boy. With Sam, she grabbed Sebastian's arm and pulled him near the water. Sebastian struggled, but Sam's strength was nearly double of his as he and Abigail threw him into the chilly water of the beach with a splash. When he stood up, he found Jane pointing at him and laughing. Her shirt was soaked and was sticking to her skin. Sebastian blushed as Jane saw his skinny but surprisingly fit and packed body, making her blush as well. Abigail and Penny cooed at their reaction.

"You know what? This is a declaration of WAR!" Sebastian shouted as he splashed water at everybody. Bad idea. Everybody ganged up on him and the salty seawater attacked him from all directions. As he futilely fought back, Jane suddenly approached him and turned her attacks at the others! Now it was 2 against 3, but Jane and Sebastian was still outnumbered. They kept splashing and splashing until Sam knocked Sebastian onto the water. Jane tripped on the sand and fell in, too. Sebastian quickly got up and helped Jane back to her feet. When their eyes met, hey burst into laughter by how stupid they looked. They continued fighting when Penny splashed more water on the two.

* * *

The gang packed up and went back to their homes when the sun was setting. Jane had taken a lot of pictures of their adventure on her phone. When Sebastian dropped her off on Agria Farm with soaking wet hair and clothes, Jane swiped through her photo gallery and giggled at some pictures.

"May I see them?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded with a smile as she showed her some pictures. There was one where Sebastian was pushed by Sam and was floating on the air right above the seawater. Another was Jane taking a selfie with Sebastian. The two other photos were similar, but the gap between the two was closing in. Also, Sebastian noticed that his smile was getting bigger by each following shot. "What do you think about today?" He asked.

 _It was so fun!_ Jane signaled with her hands, hopping around. At least they were words that he could understand.

"Well, to be honest, it was fun for me, too. Thanks for pulling me in." Suddenly, Jane approached him with a dangerous distance. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face on his chest. He could feel her heart race and Jane could probably hear his beat even faster. She rubbed her face on his soaking shirt and…

…she kissed his cheek, once again.

Jane released him slowly with the two faces red as a tomato. "Well, see you tomorrow." Sebastian said as he mounted his motorcycle and sped for the mountains. As he showered in his room, he thought. Does she have a crush on him? Most curious of all, does he?


	20. CHAPTER 19: Trauma (Jane)

Upon closing the cottage door, Jane gave a heavy but relieved sigh. The kiss that she gave on Sebastian's cheek will last for some time in her heart. Her mind was split into two sides, where one side regretted that she made too much contact with Sebastian while the other side told her to enjoy it. In fact, something about him was growing inside of her. When she returned to reality, Jane remembered that she was soaked with saltwater and looked like a burrito with a towel as the tortilla. She needed to take a warm shower, so she limped towards her bathroom, stripped off her swimsuit and hopped into the welcoming hot water.

Upon coming out from the shower, she checked her Facebook to see what was happening to her friends and her liked pages. She noticed that she had received quite a number of likes and comments on Sebastian's makeup photo. Giggling, Jane decided to check it out.

 _Jiwoo Bae:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _So cute!_

 _Hyunsoo Kim: You should have been a makeup PD in KBS!_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _=Jiwoo Bae's reply: Totally Agree!_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _Sam Arvidel: XD This is perfect_

 _Abigail Berneau: Amazing! 10/10_

 _Minsoo Park: That's my Haneul!_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: Hi!_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: Hello_

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: How are you?_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: Fine._

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: Your sister's so cool!_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: Well, thank you. Hey, we're plaguing Haneul's post._

 _=Abigail Berneau's reply: Let's talk on chat._

The conversation between her brother and Abigail made Jane giggle. It indeed sounded like she had a crush on him. Just as she was about to watch some YouTube videos, she received a Skype call… from her brother? She stood up, positioned her phone on her pillow and answered the call. On her screen, the bright and handsome face of Minsoo smiled at Jane, making her smile back.

"Hi, Jane!" Minsoo said. Jane waved back in response. "Did you take a shower?" She nodded. "I see. Are your friend with you right now?" She shook her head. "Got it. Got it. Anyway, what time is it?" Jane first pointed seven fingers and then a three and a zero. 7 and a half at night. "Seven thirty? Wow, It's Thelve thirty in the afternoon here. It's really hard when you're sitting around in the house doing almost nothing other than practicing your cooking skills."

 _I can't wait for you to come here!_ Jane signaled. _I miss your cooking!_ Indeed, Minsoo is the chef of Jane's family. When she was fifteen, Minsoo was accepted to a Culinary university in France. He dreamed of being the succeeding master chef of his country.

"Yeah, can't wait to see you again." Minsoo replied. "Anyway, what did you do today?" Upon finishing, Jane stood up, held her phone and placed it on the dining table.

 _We went to the beach._

"Beach? That's good." Minsoo nodded as Jane stood from her chair and took a cup of instant noodles and placed it on the table. "Didn't eat dinner?" Jane hummed, giving a nod. "I saw the pictures that you posted." Minsoo's words made her snap her full attention to him. "I'm glad that you have such nice friends that are with you at all times. You and your Korean friends suffered so much because of how different you were back here." Jane could only nod as she poured boiling water into her noodles. "I understand how it feels. I remember mom and dad crying over it because of how much you're bullied and the school transfers didn't help. Hmmm… maybe it was a good idea to go to Ferngill Republic after all."

 _Thank you!_ Jane signed as she dived into her noodles.

* * *

 _"Haneul, hurry up! We're gonna miss the train!" Her father called, running down the stairs. Jane nodded as she followed his family down to the underground metro station. The platform was bustling with people waiting for the train. Some people were on the newly released smartphones, some others were sitting on benches while the rest were huddled up together as couples. Jane always wondered how it felt like to have a boyfriend. Jane stood near the edge of the platform where it met the rails. The nearest train was approximately two stations away, meaning that the commuters would have to wait for approximately two more minutes._

 _"Hey, want anything?" Minsoo asked, pointing at the vending machine. Jane shrugged. "The usual? Sure." With that, he walked toward the machine. She smiled at her brother's kindness as she stared at the notification board hanging by the ceiling. The train was now one station away and had just stopped. She started to shuffle her feet round in anxiety. She couldn't wait to see her maternal grandmother. She missed her paternal Grandfather in Stardew Valley, but she knew that she can't go back there anymore. Just as she continuously shuffled, her right foot lost friction, sending her falling…_

 _…down on the rails._

 _She landed knee first on the hard steel beams of the tracks. The pain stayed for long as Jane screamed in pain._

 _"Haneul!" She heard her mother cry out. She wanted to call for help, but all that escaped from her broken throat were inaudible noises. "Somebody, help her! Please! That's my daughter!" Jane looked up to find people staring down at her. Half of the faces were frantic while the other half filled with worry. However, nobody seemed to have reached out to help._

 _"Haneul! Grab my hand!" Minsoo called out, pulling his hand to her. However, the thirteen-year old boy's hand was nowhere close to where Jane was._

 _"Minsoo, NO!" Jane heard her father pull Minsoo back. "Hey! Go tell the authorities to stop the-"_

 ** _"The Train headed for Ogeum Station is now approaching. Please step behind the yellow life for your safety."_**

 _The very echoing voice of the announcer shocked everybody. Jane looked up to find two flashing lights approaching her with fast speeds from the tunnel. She had to move fast._

 _"Haneul, roll to the corner of the rails!" Jane's mother shouted. She knew that she had to, but her left leg didn't respond. Every time she tried to move, it pained her excruciatingly. Most of her body was safe from the rails, but the faulty leg prevented her from clearing the tracks._

 _"Hurry! PLEASE!" Minsoo's voice cracked. Jane tried. She struggled, but she couldn't move anywhere. When she looked up, she was greeted by the thunderous booms of the train approaching her._

 _"HANEUL!" Multiple voices cried in unison as the blinding lights of the train met the face of crying Jane. She felt no pain afterwards followed by another loud boom._

* * *

Jane bolted up from her bed screaming. She looked around. She was still in her cottage. It was still dark as it was raining. Bright flashes of lightning occasionally blinded her window. It was a dream. Jane panted heavily as she lowered her head to find her left leg gone as usual. Whatever she had dreamed wasn't just a regular dream. It told history. Just seeing the amputated limb made her cry. She wished that she was more careful…

 **BOOM!**

Jane screamed in fear and buried herself in her pillow. She frantically touched her way to her phone and… she didn't know what to do. It was seven o'clock in the morning. The song of the rain did nothing to comfort her as she sobbed away like a baby. She knew that what she was doing was stupid, but her fear made her involuntarily do the unthinkable: _CALL_ somebody. She shakily tapped the loudspeaker and wailed as the speaker beeped. A part of her wanted him to answer.

"Hello?" A familiar groggy voice received the phone. It was Sebastian. "Jane? What the hell? I thought you are… wait, Jane?" He must have heard Jane's sob.

 **BOOM!**

Jane screamed even louder and burst into even more tears. "Jane?! Are you okay?!" Sebastian asked. Jane wanted to speak. Oh, how she wanted to. She could only cry harder as she heard Sebastian's voice becoming more nervous and frantic. "Uh… uh… Jane! H-hang in there, alright?!" With that, Sebastian ended the call. Jane buried her face in the pillow, ignoring the time passing by unknowingly. Within a minute, She heard the door burst open, and Sebastian ran to her bed.

"Jane! Jane! Are you okay?!" He asked, shaking her shoulder. Thousands of past insults and memories tormented Jane's ears and mind, blocking her friend's words. She sobbed harder, hoping the pain will go away…

 **BOOM!**

She screamed loud again, hugging her pillow tighter. She felt the raven-haired boy jolt by the sudden thunder. "Jane! Come on, please! Is everything okay?" She involuntarily shook her heard. Suddenly, she felt something fall in front of her. "Jane, please." It was Sebastian. He had lain on the bed, trying to comfort her. Jane quickly grasped his body and pulled herself to his chest, crying her sadness away. "Hey, whatever happened, I'm sorry. Please, tell me you're okay." The raven-haired boy said worriedly. Jane finally nodded. The warmth that she felt on Sebastian's body seemed to have seeped its way into her. She felt security. She felt safety. She felt… something that she didn't understand. It made her blush.

"Glad to know that." Sebastian said as he patted her back. An hour seemed to have passed as Jane made herself comfortable with Sebastian when he stood up. "Come on. We should go to my house and stay there for some time." Jane looked up from the tear-soaked shirt of Sebastian to find that the rain had stopped and the sun shone through the window.

* * *

Thanks to the rain, there was no need for Jane to water her crops as nature did it in behalf. Sebastian strapped her on his motorcycle and put Iseul in a pouch and drove up the mountain. Robin ran to her son as soon as he opened the door.

"Sebby, what happened? Is Jane okay?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, she is. There's…" Sebastian stared at Jane, then back to his mother. "…nothing to worry about."

"Jane, I really hope you're fine and well. You don't know how worried Sebby was when you called." Robin said to Jane. "Speaking of which, why call?" Jane gave a shrug. She had no idea what to do back then. "Okay, then. Sebby, do you mind if we talk?"

"Sure, mom. Sorry, Jane. This happens. Can you wait here until we're done?" Sebastian asked with Jane nodding. The door closed behind him, leaving Jane outside of the Carpenter's Shop with Iseul on her shoulder.

'What do you think they're talking about?' Jane asked the Junimo.

"I don't know. They could be talking about you." Iseul replied. It noticed that Jane's attention was at… a tunnel just beside the lake. "Are you curious of what that is?" Jane nodded. "That's the mines." It said. Jane did, however, remember that place. That was the very place where a slime attacked her throat, which made her mute. One side of her wanted her to look away, while the other side bolstered her curiosity. The curious side of her won the battle and made her slowly limp towards the entrance.

When she entered the dark cave, she noticed a man with white hair. He had a peg leg, wore an eye patch and had some sort sword sheath on his back. He was looking down on a hole until he noticed Jane's presence. "Ah, you must be the farmer that everybody talked about, especially Sebastian." The man said with a heavy Scottish accent.

 _You know Sebastian?_ Jane typed. Marlon had a hard time reading it, but he nodded once he understood.

"Why, yes. He works for me. I've heard some things about you. Your name is… Jane, correct?" Jane nodded. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here. The mines have a lot of valuable and useful ore. These kind of mines are rare to find in the world, especially when they have monsters lurking around inside." Although Jane knew about all of this, she nodded anyway. Suddenly, the man approached her with something wrapped around with cloth on hand.

"Here, I want you to take this." The man said, handing her the object. Jane accepted the thing and unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small but rusty sword. "Don't let your disabilities be your weakness, lass. I'm sure you'll do well down there." He said walking outside, but stopped just as he reached the exit. "The name's Marlon Stenburg, by the way. I run the Adventurer's Guild arm here in the Valley. If you prove yourself worthy, perhaps I can let you join." Marlon finally walked away. Jane peeked down the hole to find rocks. Lots of rocks. Her memories when she was seven years old crept onto her once again.

"Maybe you should go down there?" Iseul suggested.

'I lost my ability to speak here!' Jane thought.

"Still. Marlon is right. You can't let your disabilities be your weakness! Come on, Haneul!" Such motivation. Sighing, Jane slowly climbed down the ladder while trying her best to not let her prosthetic leg slip off as it will definitely spell her doom. Once she was down, she found… nothing. It was just quiet with rocks laying around the area. Turning on her phone flashlight, Jane slowly walked around the area with her sword on hand. She knew that she was in danger. She knew that she was weak. She knew that…

 _Squelch._

Jane quickly turned around to find one of her worst fears: A slime. It was disturbingly green and adorable as it slithered its way to her. The farmer started to tremble as Iseul watched from her shoulder. She grabbed the hilt of her sword as tightly as possible as she readied for either attack or defense. However, her past trauma prevented her from moving any further. Her muscles locked into place as she saw the trail of acidic cytoplasm left by the slime dissolve the rocks around it. The slime was now a few meters away from her when it contracted, ready to attack. Jane closed her eyes to accept her pessimistic fate when…

 ** _BANG!_**

Jane opened her eyes, startled by the thunderous sound to find that the slime was gone. What used to be the slime was now just pieces of jelly-like membrane and a glob of acidic cytoplasm. She turned to the source of the boom to find…

Sebastian.

He was holding a bolt-action rifle with a smoking barrel. His brows knitted into a frown as he twisted the bolt, letting the slug escape the rifle.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He angrily asked. Jane burst into tears as she dropped her sword and limped to him, tripping on a rock. Sebastian ran up to her to see if she was okay. "Why are you here in the first place?!" Unable to speak, Jane simply looked at him with wet eyes, making both of them blush. "Marlon sent you here, did he?" Jane nodded, making Sebastian sigh with a slight bit of anger. He helped Jane up and escorted her out of the mines safely, remembering to pick up the slug of the bullet that he had fired.

* * *

Jane followed Sebastian to a building with a sign that had sword drawn on it. "This is the Adventurer's Guild." Sebastian explained. "Marlon runs this place and I am a member and firearms specialist." He gave a sigh. "Wait here. Let me talk to him about something." He opened the door and closed it behind him. Once again, Jane was left outside. She decided to sit on the grass with the wall on her back while playing with Iseul. She enjoyed the silence for a few seconds until she heard slams on woods and muffled shouts.

"Are you insane, Marlon?!" The voice of Sebastian shouted. "You know that Jane isn't in shape to fight!"

"Sebastian, your disabilities should NOT be your weakness!" Marlon's voice replied.

"She could have died because of YOU! Look, Marlon! She can't use a pickaxe properly! Why would you want her to go into the mines?"

"She'll one day need to go in there to get the metal that she needs! Haven't you thought of that? I understand that she's your friend, but why are you so concerned about her?"

"Because I nearly watched her die! She's the only one that understands who I am and… and…" Jane heard Sebastian's voice crack. "God damn it, I don't know… I just don't… I don't know what to feel about her." She heard his sobs.

"Sebastian, I'm sorry. I should have informed you earlier about this. Still, she'll need to go to the mines someday."

"I know, Marlon. I'm sorry for shouting at you. Hey, if she has to go, let me go with her at all times. If she can't handle a sword, I'll train her to use guns, at least."

"Good idea. I'll prepare some targets if she's interested, got it?"

"Thanks. See you later." With that, the door swung open beside Jane, revealing Sebastian holding his rifle on his back. "You okay?" He asked Jane. She nodded as she took his hand. "Come on, let's go back to my house." He said as he escorted Jane back into the Carpenter's Shop.


	21. CHAPTER 20: Warmth (Sebastian)

Upon entering his house, Sebastian helped Jane sit on the sofa in his room. "Make yourself comfortable." Sebastian said as he walked to his secret closet and opened it. Inside was a collection of various firearms ranging from antique flintlocks to even the First World War bolt-action rifles. He turned his head to find Jane's jaw wide open by the scene. "Surprised?" Jane simply nodded by his question. "You don't have to. This is my dad's weapon collection. Basically, this is the thing that reminds me of him. Gosh, I miss him…"

* * *

 _"Now, son. You hold the gun like this…" Sebastian's dad adjusted the pistol on his son's hand._

 _"Um… okay, daddy." Sebastian hesitated as he held the gun as his father told._

 _"Now, try firing!" With his father's words, Sebastian pulled the trigger. The hammer fell, followed by the thunderous bang from the barrel. The recoil sent the gun flying from his hand and land on the ground behind him. "Marlon, did he get it?" He asked. Marlon walked to the target dummy to check._

 _"Unbelievable! It's a pinpoint shot right in the eye!" Marlon exclaimed. "He sure has your eye, friend!"_

 _"Good job, Sebastian." Father complimented the child, patting his head. Sebastian couldn't be happier. He loved his father for teaching him such awesome techniques like firearm shooting and videogames. He saw his mother observing from the distance. He knew that she too was smiling._

 _"Daddy, I want to see you shoot your gun!" Sebastian pleaded. Father knelt down and gave him a big smile._

 _"Of course, Sebastian." He said. He positioned his single-shot lever action rifle on his shoulder and aimed at the same target dummy that Sebastian shot in the eye. He aimed his rifle with utmost precision and pulled the trigger._

 ** _BANG!_**

 _The bullet tore past the air and hit the dummy straight in the head, exploding it into a million fluffy pieces. Father pulled the lever, causing the slug to fly out of his rifle. He placed another bullet inside and closed the mechanism._

 _"That's so COOL!" Sebastian screamed. His father only chuckled. By how adorable his son sounded. "I want to try that rifle!"_

 _"Now, son. You could barely hold your gun tightly. You can't use my guns yet."_

 _"Aww, but daddy!"_

 _"No buts, Sebastian. You are only four years old. The gun is…" Father hesitated. "Tell you what, why don't you try holding it?" He said, handing his rifle at the child. Excited, Sebastian grabbed the rifle with both of his hands. However, the weapon was far too heavy for him as he barely stood on his feet. He held the gun like his father did, but he lost balance and fell forward._

 _"It… it's too heavy, daddy." Sebastian whined._

 _"Of course it is, Sebastian. You're not ready yet."_

 _"I'm sorry, daddy."_

 _"It's okay, son." Father said, taking his rifle back. "Son, remember this. The day will come when you will be able to use a gun just like me. When that day will come, promise me that you'll be a good boy and show what you've learned to anyone you feel comfortable with, okay?" He asked, holding out his pinky. A big smile formed on Sebastian's face as he locked his own tiny pinky with his father's colossal one into a pinkie-promise._

* * *

Sebastian snapped back to reality thanks to Jane tapping on his shoulder for his attention. He shook his head to focus on what was front of it. It was the same old armory that his father gave him. How long was he here? He didn't know. "Anyway, what was I trying to do…" He wondered. "Oh, right." He pulled a knob that pulled out a wardrobe. Inside was a bullet caster; a machine his father and now he uses to recycle his bullets.

 _Is that a sewing machine?_ Jane typed.

"No. It's a bullet caster." Sebastian replied. The farmer looked at him with a curious but adorable face. It caused some kind of surge inside him, but he pushed it away. "It's technically a machine that makes bullets, but since I have a lot here and there is no gun store around, I recycle them." He explained, pulling out the slug of the bullet that he had fired today. He reached for a large pouch of gunpowder, filled a small plastic up with the black powder and filled the slug with it. He silently coughed due to some of the gunpowder tickling his throat. He placed the filled slug on a percussion cap and put those two on the machine that had a shell ready. Sebastian pulled the lever, compressing the shell and the gunpowder inside the slug, which completed the bullet.

"Cool, huh?" Sebastian asked Jane who was watching him from behind. He put the recycled bullet into his bolt-action rifle and put the safety on. Anyway, I need to work. If you want to do anything, tell me." He said as Jane eyed his TV in front of his bed that had his Xbox plugged in. "Yeah, you can play it. See if you can get my KDR up in Battlefield." He jokingly added, making Jane playfully nudge his chest.

* * *

Sebastian wrote the last line of code needed to fulfill his client's request when he saw Jane enjoying herself slaughtering her enemies with Sebastian's account. He was amazed by how good she was as a scout. She did die a few times, but her vast amount of kills compensated her deaths. She seemed to use the Martini-Henry rifle that he had acquired years ago, but hasn't used it for at least three months ago due to the weapon being downgraded by a patch. But now here he was, peeking at his farmer friend who didn't seem to care about the nerf and played it like a professional. He remembered what Marlon had said to him and decided to ask her.

"Hey, Jane?" Jane gave a hum as a response. "You, uh… like to use the Martini-Henry, right?" She gave a positive hum as she shot a round straight at an enemy's head. Her seventieth kill. Nodding, Sebastian walked back to his armory and opened it. On the top of the showcase was what Sebastian thought was the most valuable treasure that his father had given him before he disappeared down in the mines: The Martini-Henry breech-loading single-shot lever actuated rifle. It was a rifle over a century old, but it was polished and not rusted thanks to Sebastian's utmost care to it. He would feel his father's presence kicking Demetrius's vile insults whenever he held the rifle. He looked up to find Jane very close to him and staring at the gun.

 _Is this the Martini-Henry?!_ Jane's phone screen read.

"Yeah, it is. It's my dad's personal gun." Sebastian replied, sitting on the bed beside her. "Anyway, I've talked to Marlon about the mines. He is right about the fact that you're going to have to go to the mines if you want to make your farm bigger. Sure, the blacksmith has the materials you need, but his prices are unfair. I always suffer whenever I have to buy copper from him to make my percussion caps. Should I be honest? I've been consulting with my mom about Agria Farm and she agreed with me. Although it's dangerous, with your current financial status, the mines are the only option." Jane nodded in understanding.

"Seeing that your prosthetics won't help you in holding a sword, I think guns are your only choice." Sebastian concluded, taking out a M1911 pistol, his bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifle, a Webley Mk VI revolver and some ammunition and locked the closet doors shut. "He put the weapons and equipment in his backpack. "Marlon agreed to help you to train. I'll be there, so don't worry."

Jane whined in protest but after a long pause and thinking, she finally nodded and Sebastian escorted her out of his room.

* * *

"Marlon, she agreed to train for firearms." Sebastian called out as he opened the door of the Adventurer's Guild. "Hello, Gil." He said to a man sitting on a rocking chair at the left side of the building. The house gave a vibe of a medieval tavern where many mercenary and hitman contracts were made. However, this place was a place where the security of Stardew Valley was ensured. In other words, this was like the black knight police of this place.

"Sebastian. Jane. I see that you've finally acknowledged the importance of the mines. Welcome to the Ferngill Guild headquarters, Jane." Jane gave a sheepish smile as she bowed down.

"So, Marlon. I've got the guns that my dad used. Remember those?" Sebastian asked.

"The guns? Of course I do. May I see them?" Nodding, Sebastian pulled out the Martini-Henry rifle and handed it to the guild master. "Ah, yes… this is what your father had used to shoot the heads off of skeletons…" Marlon murmured something else before giving the rifle back to the raven-haired boy. "Follow me." He said, standing up from the counter filled with swords and armor. As Sebastian followed Marlon with Jane on his shoulder, he could see that Jane was partly engulfed with nervousness and curiosity. All of this was new to her.

They came to an open field surrounded by fences. The area where the three people were standing on was partially barricaded with a rock that was slightly taller than Sebastian's waist. The rest of the field consisted of target dummies and beer bottles.

"This is the shooting range." Sebastian explained to Jane. "Take a moment to familiarize yourself and come back to me when you think you're ready to start your training." Jane nodded before walking around the area. "Do you think she can shoot well?" He asked Marlon.

"Sebastian, nobody does well in their first try. You know that. Especially when I saw you training with your fath…"

"…But I was four years old at that time!" Sebastian hissed. "Every since he disappeared, I had to train myself!"

"I understand. Listen, nobody in the Guild can handle a gun better than you or your father. That's why I'm counting you on training the girl, okay? In fact, you decided to do it yourself."

"Right." Sebastian agreed as Jane returned to the two.

 _Did something happen?_ Jane typed.

"Nah, everything's fine. Ready to start?" Jane sheepishly nodded. "Alright." The raven-haired boy said as he handed her the M1911 pistol. "Before we begin, remember that this isn't easy like in Battlefield 1."

 _It's hard there, too!_ Jane typed, frowning.

"I'm joking. Hey, shooting is still better than using a sword."

"I heard that!" Marlon shouted from the distance. Chuckling, Sebastian escorted Jane to the rock. He made sure that the targets were all in sight before starting to help her adjust her aim.

"Okay, try holding like what you'd do in the game." With his words, Jane grabbed the gun's stock with both her hands. She raised the gun to eye-level and then stared at Sebastian to confirm if she did it correctly. "Is the front sight in the middle of the rear?" He asked. Jane looked at her sights and adjusted herself, then nodded. "Now, before you fire, make sure to hold the gun tightly." She nodded. "Now, try firing at any one of the targets." Nodding again, Jane swung her body so that her gun was pointing at the closest target dummy which was approximately fifteen meters away. "Solid choice." Sebastian said as he placed earphones in her ears to give her ears an easier life. "You may fire when ready."

 **BANG!**

The hammer fell, the slide pushed back and the bullet left the barrel with an air-ripping speed. Jane screamed at the sudden boom and her arms jolted up by the recoil. She collapsed onto the grassy soil. When Sebastian hurried down to help her back up, Jane was _laughing_.

'Wow, she's cute.' Sebastian thought, blushing. "You okay?" Jane nodded while covering her mouth to hide her teeth.

 _It's so fun! It's hard, though._

"Yeah? You'll get used to it." He said as he walked to the target dummy that Jane had shot. It missed the circles by a few meters. "Not bad! Not bad for a first-timer." He called. He turned around to find Jane squealing in delight as she bounced around. He sometimes wondered how she could do that with a prosthetic leg. "Alright, try to empty your clip and try aiming for the head." Sebastian said, walking back to her. Nodding, she adjusted herself, tightened her grip and pulled the trigger once and twice, but slowly. She didn't scream or collapse between each shot, but her arms kept jolting up due to the recoil.

'I'm going to have to help her on that.' He thought. After seven shots, Jane signaled him that the gun was empty. He went and checked the dummy to find only one had hit the head and the other either hit the body, missed entirely or accidentally hit another dummy. Sighing, Sebastian walked back to where he was, pulled out his revolver and emptied the cylinder on the dummy with all six bullets hitting its head. He found Jane staring at him with surprise in her eyes.

"Sorry. I wanted to do that." He apologized, giving her a new magazine. "Here, let me teach you how to reload. It's similar to the games we play."

With every shot that Jane fired, her aim seemed to tighten to where she wanted to shoot. Her arms jolted less, meaning that she was getting used to the recoil, but not that much. Either way, Sebastian saw it as an improvement. With the last magazine expended, Sebastian nodded with a smile.

"Okay, that's enough for the pistol." Sebastian said. "It's time for the big guns." He added, holding out his father's Martini-Henry. Jane's eyes opened wide along with her jaws just by its sight.

 _It's my favorite gun!_ She typed.

"And so it was my father's." Sebastian replied, grabbing all the slugs that were dropped from Jane's gun. "Here, try holding it." He said, handing the rifle to the farmer. He picked up his Springfield and positioned it on his shoulder. He saw that Jane indeed held it, but very incorrectly. "No, no hold it like this." Sebastian said, twitching his neck to himself. He could see Jane's determination to do it correctly but struggled to do so. Sighing, He dropped his rifle and approached her.

"Okay. First, you place your hand on the handgrip, not near the barrel." He instructed, taking her non-firing hand and sliding it to near where her right hand was. "…and form the letter 'V' with your thumb and your index." He said. As he tried to make the letter with her hands, he accidentally wrapped his fingers around her hand, making her blush and… smile? He paused for a while as he eyed her face and his face heated up, but quickly let go once he realized what he had done. He cleared his throat and continued. "Alright. Put the butt in the pocket of your right shoulder…" He repositioned the rifle butt as he said in Jane's shoulder pocket. "Good. You're grabbing the grip properly, which is fortunate. And seeing that your elbows are in the right position… hmmm…" He looked up to inspect what else was wrong. He found that Jane was still staring at him, blushing. Wow, she was so adorable even when holding a gun. "Uh.. s-so… re-relax your neck and… and… let your cheek fall naturally to the stock." The hard part was here. He moved his hand around her rosy cheek to position her cheek on the stock. Due to her smooth skin, Sebastian looked away, trying to hide his blush. "Okay… y-you're ready to fire." He stuttered as he heard Jane pull the trigger. The bullet left the barrel of the century-old rifle with a loud crack, whizzing its way towards its mark. The raven-haired boy looked at the target dummy to find that it hit its mark! "Wow, you did it! That's a ten pointer right there!" He complimented. Jane giggled a she gave him a high five. "Here, let me show you how to reload…"

* * *

The two exited the Adventurer's Guild and walked back into the Carpenter's Shop. They mounted Sebastian's motorcycle and they stopped at Agria Farm. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Sebastian asked once Jane dismounted.

 _I loved it! You must teach me more!_ Jane typed, bouncing.

"Well, of course I will. I guess it equalized the fact that you're teaching me sign language." Sebastian said, then signaled with his hands: _Am I right?_

Jane vigorously nodded and tightly hugged the raven-haired boy.

 _Best student ever!_ She signed.

"Hey, maybe if we keep teaching each other this, you don't need to use your phone." Jane nodded. "Alright, thanks for the day." He said, revving the motor, but something bugged him. "Hey, tell you what, how about if I give you my Springfield so you can practice it yourself?" He asked. Jane stared at him as if she wasn't sure. "It'll be fine. I trust you. Here, let me show you how to operate these kinds of things." He assured, showing her how to operate the bolt in his rifle. He twisted the bolt, pulled it, pushed it back and reposition the bolt back town. "Easy, huh?" Jane nodded. "Okay. I'm going to give this to you for a week. I've give you twenty rounds to begin." Sebastian said, handing her four clips with five bullets each. "Well, good luck. I'll do my best to practice my sign language myself. See you tomorrow." With that after a cheery and cute wave from Jane, Sebastian zoomed off of Agria Farm. As he enjoyed the wind slapping his cheeks, he could help but think about his friendship with her. She seemed to enjoy being around with him and even understood that he wanted to be different.

…Then it hit him. All this strange surge and feeling that he had felt whenever he was close to him… it all made sense. He knew that he now had a crush on her.


	22. CHAPTER 21: Construction (Jane)

Jane grasped the Springfield tightly as she saw Sebastian zoom out of the farm. She then looked down at the rifle, then for some reason, blushed. The day was very exciting, yet strange. First, she was comforted by Sebastian, then went into the mines, encountered what had caused her to be mute, found out that the raven-haired boy was good at shooting guns and finally, he helped her shoot a gun herself. Just thinking about how Sebastian was determined to teach her what he knew and how determined he was to learn what she knew… it just made her heart skip. She calculated in her mind about what happened and how it could match the warmth that engulfed her.

She realized. This was like in the K-Dramas. She was starting to fall in love with him.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to just consider him as a very good friend, but her heart betrayed her thoughts as she wanted to go even closer to him. She dared not to ruin the bond that was being created between her and Sebastian. She had come this far with him along with her other friends such as Abigail and Sam.

No. She pushed the thoughts off from her mind. The sun was still up enough for her to see clearly. She knew that she was stressed just by thinking about her feelings. She decided to use the gun that she was holding. She walked westward until she reached something. She noticed a structure that definitely stood out from the background. It looked… like an altar. An altar made of black stone and four candles vertically surrounding it. This was most interesting. Jane limped to it to check it out. Upon reaching, she noticed that there was something engraved on the altar. It was difficult to read at first due to the moss, but she could finally understand after some eye-squinting. It was in Korean.

 _I shall return three years after your arrival, my treasure._

 _Be Diligent._

 _Be Open-Hearted._

 _I cannot wait to see you again to grant you my greatest gift of all._

'Strange.' Jane thought as she walked away. She found the perfect spot for her shooting. A grassy area void of any woody vegetation. The nearest tree was approximately thirty meters away. She opened the bolt-mechanism and loaded a 5-round clip and closed it back. 'Just like Battlefield!' She thought. She remembered what Sebastian had told her and adjusted her body and her rifle so that it matched what he had instructed. His words rang through his head as she aimed down the sights on the closest tree and pulled the trigger.

 **BANG!**

The bullet tore through the air and hit something. Birds that rested flew away, chirping away in fear. She squinted her eyes to see if she hit her mark.

Barely.

The bullet had completely missed the tree hit a rock. Sighing, Jane twisted the bolt and picked up the slug that she had dropped. It was hot, but tolerable. She aimed and fired again. Another miss. Frustrated, she twisted the bolt and fired the third shot. This time, it finally hit the tree, but not where she wanted. Another twist on the bolt and another pull. The bullet got closer, but it still wasn't enough, loudly grunting, Jane twisted the bolt roughly and fired her last shot. The bullet hit its mark… Just where she wanted! With the sound of the bullet impact, Jane could feel her anger and worries blow away like the chippings of wood that fell from the impact.

* * *

'That's enough for today.' Jane thought and pushed her rifle back on its strap and swung it behind her. She found out that shooting this gun would not only help her in marksman, but act as a good stress reliever. As she walked back into her cottage, she couldn't help but finally realize how congested the interior was. She had barely enough room to walk around due to all of her favorite stuff positioned around. Sure, she could get help from her friends, but she didn't want to bother with them. That was when she knew that she needed a house upgrade. She remembered overhearing Robin talking about how she upgraded Sam's house during a conversation with Demetrius. She flopped down on the bed and texted Robin.

 _Jane: Hello, Mrs. Callahan!_

 _Robin: Hi, Jane!_

 _Have you had fun with Sebby?_

 _Jane: Of course! : )_

 _Robin: Good to hear that!_

 _So, what's wrong?_

 _Jane: Remember that you told me how you upgrade the townspeople's houses?_

 _Robin: You want one, too?_

 _Jane: My cottage is too small for me to walk around._

 _In other words, yes. I may need that upgrade._

 _Robin: I'm happy to help!_

 _Jane: What do I need?_

 _Robin: Since you can't give me the materials, I'll give you a special offer!_

Jane's eyes widened. A special offer?

 _Robin: You may only pay 10000 Galleons!_

 _I usually make my clients get their own wood._

Jane nodded. She checked her bank account to find that she had more than enough money. In fact, she had nearly twice the amount. For some reason, she started to feel greedy.

 _Jane: Sounds like a deal!_

 _One more thing, though._

 _Robin: Shoot!_

 _Jane: May I ask for a coop?_

Jane was confident thanks to Iseul's accompany that she could tend animals. Other than wanting to become a sign language teacher, she also wanted to work as a zookeeper. Perhaps now that she works in a farm, part of her dreams can come true?

 _Robin: That would cost 4000 Galleons._

 _Are you sure?_

 _Jane: Yes._

 _Robin: Oh, I feel like dancing! This is like early Christmas!_

 _Although we celebrate something else here…_

 _Jane: lol_

 _Robin: Okay, I'm coming down now with my tools._

 _Be sure to get your payment ready._

 _Jane: Is credit card okay?_

 _Robin: We'll see!_

Jane gave a sigh. Strangely enough, this was the first time she would use her credit card. She was forbidden to use it until her high school graduation. She decided to take a nap while fantasizing about Sebastian.

* * *

"Hello? Jane?" Robin's voice called from outside. Jane instantly stood from her bed and limped to the door. She opened it to find Robin smiling at her with a handful of blueprints on her left hand while a box of tools at the other. The farmer waved at the carpenter with a cheery smile. "Aw, Jane! You're so adorable! No wonder Sebby wants to be with you!" Robin joked. Jane looked away, hiding her blush as the carpenter laughed at her embarrassment. "Sorry, I was just kidding. May I go inside?" Nodding, Jane let the carpenter in and shut the door behind her. She turned on the lights and took Robin to the table. "My, no wonder you asked for a house upgrade!" She remarked. Jane shrugged, but when she looked around to confirm the carpenter's statement, she found Sebastian's bolt-action rifle laying on the bed clearly visible! Jane hurried and hid the rifle under the bed.

"Is there something wrong?" Robin asked, but Jane shook her head. "Okay, then!" She shrugged as she unrolled her blueprints. Jane limped back to the table to see what was up.

"Okay. This is the graph paper that I will use to help you design you new house, okay? Don't worry, as a special offer for how you're so cute and how you are good friends with Sebby and Maru, I'll fix the price for you." Jane could only laugh with rosy cheeks by Robin's joke. "Alright. I'll try not to get too much into the words that you won't understand, okay? Here we go. Your cottage is exactly eight meters in length and ten meters in width. That would be about… This big." Robin draw a rectangle on the graph paper. "Now, what do you want in your house?" She asked.

Jane thought for some time. What would she want if she had a house on her own? She would definitely have a Living room and a Kitchen. For the first time upon coming to Ferngill Republic, she wished to cook real food. In fact, she was now on her last reserves of instant food. Suddenly, she remembered that her family will be coming over at Fall! She wrote her desire on the remote part of the graph paper with a pencil.

 _I want a kitchen, a living room and three rooms._

"Three? Why?"

 _My family's coming over for a month._

"Really? Wow! I can't wait to see your parents! I've heard about your brother from Sebby and Abigail!" Robin chirped. "Anyway, let's not deviate from what we were doing. Okay. So, let me try refining what you want and draw a crude model." She said, concentrating on drawing on the graph paper with the aid of scales. She finished with a diagram of a long rectangle approximately four times the size of the cottage diagram and was split into half. On the right part of the rectangle, there were three rectangles that were the same size as the cottage. Two were on top and one was at the right.

"So the left rectangle here…" Robin tapped on the long rectangle. "…will be the kitchen. The right side adjacent to that will be the living room. I will place electric sockets… here!" She drew a few circles at the lines. "These three squares will be the bedrooms. They will all be the same size as this cottage. In total, that would be… 6027 meters squared." Jane nodded. "So what do you think? Should we go with this?" Jane couldn't think of better alternatives. She was never interested in architecture, but thanks to Robin's easy explanation, She could understand what was happening. Smiling, she nodded.

"Great! That does it for your upgrade! Now for…" She shuffled her graph papers until she found a blueprint. "…Your coop! It is twelve meters in length and ten meters in width. There will be a shutter door for your animals to get out and receive fresh air and a door for you to get in on the left. " Robin explained, pointing her pencil at the corresponding areas. "Now, we need to get out so you can show me where you want your coop, okay?" Jane nodded, and thus was escorted by the carpenter outside. As Robin started embedding foundations made of wooden cylinders and ropes to signal how big the house will be, Jane thought of where the coop would best be built: right next to her house so that she could have quick access to it. "That was a fast choice! And a good one!" Robin nodded, and placed the foundation for the coop, too.

"Now, that would be a total 14000 Galleons!" Robin said. "Oh, by the way, you're going to have to sleep somewhere else for about… eight days. Good think I have some spare materials back at shop…" She chuckled. Jane scrambled through her wallet and pulled out her credit card. "Right, you said that you'll pay through credit card… I have an idea!" Jane's eyes focused on hers. "I'll let you sleep in my Shop! I'm sure Sebby will be more than happy to help you!" Robin said, calling Sebastian through her phone.

"Hello? Sebby? Yes, here's the news. Jane asked for some construction projects and she needs a place to sleep. So… is it okay if she stays inside your house for eight days? Please?" A long pause followed before Robin's face brightened up. "Really?! Oh, Sebby! You're such a good boy! Can you come down to the farm and take Jane to our shop? Thanks! Bye!" Robin ended the call.

"Jane, Sebby will come pick you up! There will be a credit card payment machine at my counter, okay?" Jane nodded, slightly blushing by thinking about being with Sebastian for longer. In her heart, she wanted to, but her mind thought how awkward it would be.

* * *

Jane had recently packed some clothes and her computer when she heard Sebastian's motorcycle stop at the cottage's doorstep. She stepped outside to find the raven-haired boy talking with his mother.

"I mean, seriously, mom. Two weeks?! That's kinda outrageous, don't you think?" Sebastian asked.

"Sebby, Jane can't chop down trees unlike the other townspeople! I hope you understand!"

"Ugh, whatever. Not that I'm complaining…"

"Aw, Sebby!" Robin cooed.

"Mom!" Sebastian whined when he saw Jane. "Hey Jane. Let me help you with your stuff." He said, hosting Jane's luggage and strapping them onto the bike. Luckily, there was space left in the seat for two.

"I'll go back by foot while you take her to the Shop, okay?" Robin asked.

"Okay, mom. Jane, climb up!" With his words, Jane mounted the bike as it sped up the mountain. When the two arrived back at where they hung out just hours ago, Jane quickly placed her card in the payment machine until it confirmed the payment. "So, staying here… awkward, isn't it?" Sebastian asked, blushing. Nodding, Jane typed on her phone.

 _We'll get used to it. I brought my computer so we can play Sins of a Solar Empire together!_

"That's perfect! Let me help you set it up!" Sebastian beamed, pulling the luggage down to his basement room.


	23. CHAPTER 22: Dwell (Sebastian)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **thank you so much for reading The Signal until now! My computer's currently confiscated and this chapter has been written by phone. Please forgive me if the quality is bad!**

The eight days when Jane had to stay in the Carpenter's Shop went along for her and Sebastian. During the first four days while Robin cut down trees in Agria Farm to use for the construction, Sebastian and Jane tended the farm and helped his mother transport wood and rocks from where she acquired from and to the construction sites. Sebastian saw how eager Jane was to have a new house. After all, it was her family who's going to come over.

When it became midday, they would go back to the Shop and spend their time together. During the second day, Sebastian made a decision to learn sign language from Jane every day during her stay. He had never seen her so happy when he declared so. His body warmed up whenever such happened. In exchange for his diligence, Jane seemed to become more determined to train her marksmanship with him. Despite being hard for her as she still had difficulty adjusting her firing position due to her prosthetics and the inability to kneel, she carried on, doing whatever she could, and Sebastian had difficulty training her with such challenges.

Not that Sebastian complained, however. As time passed, his sign language skills dramatically improved to the point where Jane didn't have to use her phone to talk with him most of her time. He was just happy that the time of their conversations were shortened.

Video games and hangouts with Abigail and Sam awaited the two when their learning and teaching quotas were fulfilled. The duo's friends had their fun joking about how Sebastian and Jane were too perfect for each other and they retaliated with flip-offs, blushes, hasty topic changes and friendzoning.

In reality, however, Sebastian wished that his friends were right.

The four would play Cards Against Humanity, Overwatch, take turns or even gang up against Jane in StarCraft matches if Abigail and Sam brought their laptops, only for the farmer to decimate them with superior strategy.

Upon reaching the last four days, official construction had began. By this time, Sebastian spent most of his time either helping his mother in hammering down nails, applying cement on bricks or helping Janen tending her crops. The sixth day provided Jane with her first Summer harvest of blueberries and peppers. So much of the sweet blue fruit came from this much plants. Sebastian almost burned out from all the labor and his programming work, but whenever he saw Jane's adorable face, he felt motivated. He wanted answers to this phenomenon, but remained silent for now. He thought that the time isn't just here yet. Thus, he decided to keep his feelings to himself to not ruin their bonds.

* * *

It was the last day of Jane's stay in Sebastian's room. He and Jane had just recently returned from her marksmanship training. She was improving, but very slowly. She still had trouble getting her sights correctly, thus her shots were inaccurate. Other than that, she seemed to do fine. Sebastian was using his bullet caster to recycle the slugs that he and Jane fired when the farmer entered his room with dripping wet hair while wearing her pajamas of trainer shorts and an adorably white Overwatch T-shirt.

Wow. He noticed that her red and blue hair dye was temporarily invisible due to the water. Strangely, this was the first time he saw her dyed hair. "Hold on, let me finish this…" Sebastian said as he operated the caster to rebuild his last bullet. He then put everything back to its original position, washed his hands clean from the gunpowder and then returned to accompany Jane.

 _It's my last day here._ Jane signaled. Sebastian nodded as a response. He was glad that he could now understand most of her words.

"Yeah, I know." He replied. "Did you like it?" Surprisingly, she nodded. It wasn't just a tiny one due to embarrassment, but rather a confident and honest nod. He didn't expect any positive answer. "Well, I'm glad that you liked being here. I thought my dusty room and strange sleep schedules might have bothered you." Jane nodded. "Now I don't have to worry about your parents scolding me because of how horrible of a host I was." Sebastian chuckled.

 _I'm bored!_

"Bored? Wanna play Sins? One on one?" He suggested and Jane smiled with positivity. She limped for her computer and turned on Sins of a Solar Empire. Sebastian created a private match and chose the Vasari Loyalists as his faction. Jane chose to be TEC Rebels and began the game.

* * *

The match ended with Jane barely winning with a military victory due to Sebastian's cunning strategy to try to beat her with attrition warfare. He tried to use his factional advantage and his his Vorastra Titan and let her fleet destroy his capital planet while he escaped with his own fleet to sabotage Jane's planets. Eventually, Sebastian's fleet was compromised by Jane's scout fleet, which ensued a massive and final battle between the two fleets when they met. Jane _managed_ to win by one lucky shot with her Ragnarov Titan that destroyed Sebastian's titan.

"…and that's how I lose my title as the Sins master." Sebastian said, sighing. He heard Jane giggle before the Skype ringtone sounded from her computer. "W-who is it?" He asked.

 _My brother._ Uh-oh. His room looked nowhere similar to her cottage.

"What do we do? Your family's going to kill us!" Sebastian cried as the call request continued. He settled town to think. What would her parents think of their daughter when they would find her in a boy's room right next to the boy? More exactly, how would Asian parents react? He couldn't remember what the Internet had taught him. As he saw Jane looking at him as if she was panicking, he decided to let fate decide. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Accept the call."

 _Are you sure?_

"Don't worry. I hope Minsoo will understand" with that, Jane curiously nodded and shakily accepted the Skype call. Once she did, her computer screen portrayed the young handsome Asian man with a celebrity-style bowl hair cut slightly dyed brown. He was lean and wearing a… chef apron?

"안녕, 하늘! (Hi, Haneul!)" Minsoo beamed, lightly waving. Jane waved back with both of her hands in return. Her brother's eyes seemed to look at Sebastian for a brief moment as he opened his mouth again. "Sebastian? What are you…"

"I can explain." Sebastian stuttered.

"You sound like you slept with my sister in the same bed." The man joked, chuckling. "I hope you didn't go that far." He added. Sebastian looked away while Jane whined in denial, both of them blushing. Half what her brother had said was correct, though. "Yeah, I've heard it from mom. You told her that you're staying on this guy's house for eight days."

"Yup. May I ask you one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"What's with your clothes?"

"These?" Minsoo asked, tugging on his apron. "I thought my sister told you?" The raven-haired boy shook his head in denial. "Well, I work in a restaurant in Seoul, so that explains one part. Also, I'be been in a photo shoot with a friend, which explains the last half. Today's my day off."

"I see." Sebastian nodded.

"Haneul, mom told us that you've been already preparing for our arrival. I've saw your Facebook pictures of your new house construction. It already looks good, judging by the most recent photo!" Minsoo complimented his sister.

The conversation lasted for twenty minutes until Jane's brother ended the call. Sebastian noticed that it was already 10: 30 PM, thus he suggested his friend to read some of his favorite science-fiction novels, which she accepted unusually gladly. They sat together on Jane's sleeping mattress and read. Sebastian talked about his favorite parts of each books while Jane listened and replied with her opinions with sign language and phone text if there were words that couldn't be said through hands.

The raven-haired boy couldn't help but to be curious about Jane's hair dyes. Her frontal right hair was red while the left blue. "Uh… Jane, what's with your hair?" He asked. Caressing her hair, Jane began to type her response.

 _I dyed it during an esports match three years ago at Blizzcon. I wanted to show that I really supported my country team._

"…and you haven't erased it?" Sebastian asked. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but…"

 _I like it, my friends liked it._ Jane shrugged. They continued reading until Sebastian felt something fall on his shoulder. He looked to find Jane had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. It was already 11: 30PM.

'Time really passes' he thought as he took one last glance at her cute face and finally laid her soft head down on her pillow before walking to his computer. He had unfinished work to do.

* * *

Sebastian typed away lines of code on his scripting program as he usually does before going to sleep. It has been a few weeks since he quit smoking thanks to Jane's plea. He started to feel more alive ever since. He felt his body warm up and cough less.

'That's a big plus.' He thought. He concentrated on his work in complete silence.

Strange. Silence isn't in his dictionary whenever somebody stays over in his room. He would be bothered by Sam by his horrible jokes and his turbojet engine-level snoring when they would sleep.

But Jane… she was different. She was so silent. She understood that he liked to be left alone when heels working, which was very unlike his other friends and even his mother. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Sebastian would sheepishly smile whenever he saw her? Who knows. He gave a sigh of contentment when he submitted his work to his client and received transaction. 'Another order done.' He thought, yawning. Just as he was about to close the computer and go to sleep, he received a message… from Sam? This time, the blonde boy wasn't alone. Abigail was also in the chat.

 _Sam Arvidel: It's the half of the dream couple!_

 _Abigail Berneau: All hail our king Sebastian!_

Sebastian sighed before typing his reply.

 _Sebastian Callahan: go to hell, you two._

 _Why did you call me?_

 _Abigail Berneau: How's Jane?_

 _Sebastian Callahan: She's sleeping_

 _why do you care?_

 _Sam Arvidel: Boo. I thought u would be having a gud time with ya_

 _Sebastian Callahan: Shut up_

 _I was working with my programming._

 _Abigail Berneau: Not looking at Jane's face? ; )_

 _Sebastian Callahan: Was that necessary?_

He just wanted to punch them in the face with a brass knuckle. However, he couldn't lie; he was indeed staring at Jane's face while he flustered.

 _Sam Arvidel: You should wake her up_

 _Let's play Overwatch_

 _Sebastian Callahan: She has to work tomorrow, you idiot_

 _Sam Arvidel: : (_

 _I wanted to rank up with her_

 _Abigail Berneau: We'll play together then_

 _Are you in?_

 _Sebastian Callahan: Fine._

 _BUT NO MEI ICE WALL TROLLING!_

Finally, something that Sebastian accepted. A Overwatch match with two of his friends. It was too bad Jane wasn't awake to play together, though.

After making a party with Sam and Abigail, he played as Zenyatta, Abigail played as Reaper while Sam played as… Mei. Frustrated, Sebastian typed on the game chat.

 _SHADOW: Sam I said no mei_

 _Star98: lol too bad_

'Not this junk again…' Sebastian sighed as the match started. As he played supportive for his team, something seemed to divert him from the gameplay. It wasn't long before he noticed that his eyes continuously turned to Jane. She was silent as ever. She never snored nor moved around violently. With the combination of Iseul the Junimo sleeping in Jane's arms, Sebastian couldn't help but smile at how cute they looked. He snapped back to reality when he found himself back at the spawn point. He continued playing while trying his best not to divert his attention to Jane. After a few matches, Sebastian called for the day and went robbed right beside her mattress. He dreamt about her.

* * *

Sebastian dropped Jane off back to Agria Farm along with her belongings next to her new house and coop. He secretly smiled at how exited Jane was when she limped around the house. It was definitely larger than her cottage and included three bedrooms, a kitchen and living room. The raven-haired boy helped her in her farm chores, cleaned some furniture and finally ended their eight day sleepover. As Sebastian rode his bike back home, he wished that all of what happened was a date in the bottom of his heart.

* * *

The Luau Festival was the next day, which was the 11th of Summer. Sebastian mounts his motorcycle and sped down the mountain after a quick breakfast of toast. When he stopped near the farmhouse, he saw Jane already waiting for him with her tools ready. Sebastian gladly helped her in the farm and everything was ready.

"So, what are you going to bring for the Luau?" Jane replied to his question with a bag full of very good cauliflowers. He remembered helping her root these very vegetables out from the soil during her early days here. Oh, how times had passed. The farm was barely half the size of how it is now. He checked the clock to find that it had struck twelve. "Time to go. People are gonna be annoyed, as they always are." He said, helping Jane on his bike. He revved the engine and drove eastward.


	24. CHAPTER 23: Fraternity (Jane)

Jane braced herself on Sebastian's waist as the motorbike sped through Pelican Town. The raven-haired boy steered southward and parked near the beach. He helped Jane dismount the bike and escorted her to the sandy ground. "You've been to tropical festivals, have you?" He asked. Jane nodded. Her family would go to Sokcho and spend some days of Summer there joining beach parties. However, Jane partially hated the overcrowded place. Now, she hoped that the Luau wasn't like that.

* * *

 _Jane giggled as she torpedoed towards the beach. It has been five days since she lost her voice down in the mines._

 _"Slow down, haneul! You know I can't catch a bunny like you!" Her grandfather chuckled. She ignored him and looked around. The place was bustling with townspeople. Marnie Lannister, the ranch owner, was igniting a giant campfire with a cauldron on top. Gus was laying down plates and plates of mouth-watering food down on long tables. That wasn't why Jane was here, though. She searched like a surveillance camera until she found Abigail and Sam making a sand castle. Exited, she bolted towards her friends and they noticed her. Abigail squealed as she accepted Jane's crash to her body._

 _"Are you okay, Jane?" Abigail asked. Although it slightly stung, Jane maintained her smile and nodded._

 _"Hi Jane!" Sam greeted her and she greeted him back with a hug. "I'm hungry!" He whined._

 _'Didn't you eat breakfast?' Jane wrote on her notebook._

 _"N-no! Mom told me to skip it! I don't know why!" He replied, staring at the food. Jane turned to where he was staring to find the very raven-haired child that slept with her two days ago. "Oh, it's Sebastian."_

 _'Have you tried being friends with him?'_

 _"I'm trying but…" Jane was already hopping towards Sebastian before Sam could finish. When Jane threw herself to the raven-haired child, Sebastian fell to the sand while she laughed at how flustered he was._

 _'Wanna dance?' She asked._

 _"D-dance? But…" Before he could finish, Jane was dragging Sebastian to her closest friends as the marimba of the music sounded from the speakers._

* * *

When Jane limped into the beach, all of the townspeople seemed to be having a good time. Just like how she remembered, Marnie was preparing the cauldron for the potluck soup, Gus was laying the food that he had cooked on rows of tables covered with white cloth and Lewis was coordinating everything.

It was just how Jane remembered the last time she was here. The only differences were the ages of the people and that Sam was now in charge of checking the sound system and dancing with Penny.

'If only…' Jane thought as Abigail approached her.

"Hi, Jane!" Abigail chirped. "It's the dream couple!"

"Abby, it's getting REALLY old." Sebastian grunted.

"It'll never get old, Seb. Am I right, Sam?"

"Correct!" Sam yelled from the distance, making Jane blush. She had to force her eyes from turning to her raven-haired crush.

"Anyway, what did you bring for the potluck?" By Abigail's question, Jane pulled out her cauliflower bag. "Ooh! Straight from your farm?" Jane nodded, placing the bag back onto her shoulders.

 _What did you bring?_ Jane typed.

"Well, I didn't… but my mom brought leeks and onions that she got from her garden for the soup. My dad… I think he brought some meat. I don't know."

 _What did you bring?_ Jane signaled Sebastian.

"Oh? Uh… My mom thought it would be a good idea to bring mushrooms. I don't mind, but Demetrius… that guy brought chicken stock powder." Sebastian scoffed.

 _My brother would go bananas against that stock._ Jane replied. Sebastian, understanding her hands, hummed in response.

"Aww, you now talk to each other through sign language?! THAT'S SO CUTE!" Abigail cooed.

"Can you please not?" Sebastian grunted.

The teenagers were having their time of their life when Lewis walked to them. Jane bowed deeply to show her usual respect to elders. "If only your friends were like you." The old mayor quietly said. "Anyway, have you brought anything for the potluck? I can't wait to see how Agria Farm has improved!" Jane smiled as she showed her bag full of cauliflowers. "Ah, yes. That'll make a fine soup! Those who brought ingredients are now placing them in the cauldron. You should follow me." Just before departing, Jane glanced at her friends.

"We'll be waiting. Don't worry, Jane." Sam assured.

"Right, Jane. You should get going." Sebastian added. Thus, Jane gave him a sweet smile before following Lewis to the middle of the commotion.

* * *

By the time Jane had arrived, Caroline had added her ingredients in the cauldron. It was her turn. She stepped closer to find that the cauldron. It was now the farmer's turn. She stepped closer to find that the cauldron was way bigger than she had anticipated. In fact, it was COLOSSAL. It was as tall as Jane's shoulders and its width was wider than her height. For a 40-serving soup, this was very impressive. Just as she was about to bring her cauliflowers, she met one of her worst enemies: Stepladders. It wouldn't have been if it weren't' for her prosthetic leg. Jane frantically looked around as people stared at her as if they were confused.

"Oh my god, Chopstick Leg! Hurry up! No wonder people hated you back in Korea." Haley gloated from a distance. Jane wanted to cry. If only she could climb simple wooden steps…

"Jane?" A familiar voice called. Jane looked towards the source of the voice to find Sebastian. "Let me take care of that for you."Smiling with gratitude, she handed Sebastian her bag with a blush. Flustered, he took the bag and walked up the steps.

Meanwhile, Jane took the liberty to overhear conversations between Jodi and Robin.

"Jodi, have you wondered why the Province Governer isn't here yet? He always comes for the Luau early!" Robin said.

"I've heard from Lewis that he's too busy with financial affairs. What a shame. He won't get to see our new farmer this year." Jodi replied. Robin nodded in agreement.

"Say, have you heard? Her family's coming to visit her farm at Fall! I've heard Sam that they'll stay here for a month."

"A month? Oh, I wonder what they'll do here. I do remember Jane talking to someone in Skype Chat in Korean. Maybe it could be her brother? Looks like Sebby's going to make another friend!"

"Sam also told me that Jane's brother work in a restaurant in Korea. I wonder how he'll differ from Gus." Jodi added. As Jane listened to the two women, she noticed Sebastian holding her now empty bag.

"I did it. Come on, the soup's gonna take some time to make. Let's go to the docks and meet up with Sam and Abby." He said, escorting Jane there.

* * *

Some time had passed when Jane, Sebastian, Abigail and Sam were talking about the farmer's family when Lewis called everyone for the food. The townspeople gathered around the cauldron as Marnie poured the reddish-brown broth into wooden bowls and handed them to whoever wished to eat. Among the four teenagers, Jane was the only one to take a bowl. She gave a sniff. Wow, it smelled amazing. Anticipating that it'll also taste good, she took a spoonful of the hot liquid and took a sip. As the liquid slid down her stomach, Jane couldn't fathom how delicious it was as she sped up her eating.

"I guess it's THAT good." Abigail said to Sam, pointing at Jane.

"Maaybe." Sam shrugged as Jane slurped away.

"Let's just get our food."

"Yeah." Sam agreed, taking a plastic plate from the table. When Jane found her bowl empty, she found Sebastian with his own bowl of soup, slowly indulging it.

 _You like it?_ Jane signaled.

"Yeah! I really like the cauliflower-y taste." Sebastian replied. "I usually don't drink the soup, but… wow. This is really good!" He added, taking another spoonful. "Go get your food. I'll follow you guys later." With that, Jane placed her bowl in the cleaning bucket and took a plate for her food.

* * *

The Luau ended at five in the evening when people finished cleaning the beach. Jane volunteered to help her elders clean up, which Lewis scolded her friends that they should be like her and ordered them to clean up as well despite Jane's refusal for help. Eventually, everybody helped each other pick up trash that the townspeople left behind and threw them in the large bin, although Sam occasionally buried some trash into the sand. Jane placed those into the bin later on.

The Valley showered Pelican Town with the song of the rain when everything in the beach was like how it was before: Clean and sandy, although the rain made it wet. Abigail and Sam had followed their parents home, leaving Jane looked around for her friend… and crush. 'Where is he?' She thought until she turned to the dock to find the raven-haired boy in his thin black hoodie that she knew. He didn't seem to care about the rain unlike Jane, who was covering her hair with her bag. Jane immediately struggled through the wet sand and limped across the dock. When she neared him, Sebastian turned around to meet his eyes with hers which caused a surge in Jane's heart.

"Hi, Jane." Sebastian said.

 _What are you doing?_

"I was just looking at the…" He turned around. "…Background." Jane nodded in understanding. The dark clouds showered the Gem Sea with fresh rain as it moved across the skied guided by the wind. "Whenever it rains, I always come here to spend my time alone. I feel so awkward when I'm with people, even Sam and Abby." He then turned to Jane.

'Oh my god, is this a confession?!' Jane screamed in her mind.

"…But I don't feel that way with you." Never mind. The farmer's heart fell upon the anticlimactic words. She felt her torso getting heavy due to the rainwater drenching her clothes. She wanted to say that she needed to get home, but she couldn't because Sebastian opened his mouth. "We're getting soaked." He said, pulling out an umbrella. He tugged it open. "Here, there's space for two."

'This is just like the dramas!' Jane squealed in her heart as she slowly, but sheepishly shuffled closer to him until his umbrella defended her from the rain. She slowly rested her head on Sebastian's shoulder as she let herself be mesmerized by the sea and the rainclouds. Her heart felt like it would burst any second. She wanted to be closer to him. Oh, if only she had the courage to confess.

* * *

Sebastian gave Jane a hug before taking off to the mountain. As she saw him disappear, Jane quickly entered her house and shut the door tightly behind her. Leaning on it, she tightly grasped her chest as her face turned into a tomato. Was this the closest she had ever approached Sebastian? No. She kissed his cheek twice. Whatever happened today… this was different. But what?

Jane collapsed on the ground. She didn't know what to do. She wanted somebody to be with her right now so she could pour out everything that was in her heart, but she was alone right now. She could relieve her emotions and stress with her borrowed rifle, but it was raining. If only she could find someone that she could consult her feelings with…

'Consult…' Jane thought. She had done such thing in her life, despite barely being helpful. Then it hit her.

 _Minsoo!_

If someone could deeply understand her more than her parents, it would be Jane's brother. She loved him and he loved her. People considered the two as the perfect siblings where the brother protected the sister at all costs due to her numerous disabilities. Not only he helped her in physical confrontation against her bullies, he would sometimes help Jane with some advices.

Yes, that was it! Jane rose from the ground, limped into her room and powered her computer on. She turned on Skype and opened a text chat with Minsoo.

 _-Haneul Park: Hi,_ _오빠_ _(Brother)_

No response. He must be working right now. Maybe it wasn't wise to talk to him until he fulfils his job quota. Jane decided to close the chat for now just after the she saw Minsoo's response.

 _-Minsoo Park: Hi Haneul._

 _What's up?_

Jane gave a sigh of relief before continuing tapping on her keyboard.

 _-Haneul Park: Aren't you working?_

 _-Minsoo Park: There are no orders in the restaurant yet, so I'm free for now._

 _-Haneul Park: That's great!_

 _-Minsoo Park: It is. I get to talk to you, my fellow colleagues and one of your friends._

 _-Haneul Park: Abigail?_

 _-Minsoo Park: Apparently so._

 _I don't know how she got my Skype, though_

 _Did you give her?_

 _-Haneul Park: Yeah. Sorry_

 _-Minsoo Park: It's okay_

 _She's interesting, anyway_

 _What's up?_

It was time. This would be the first time that she would open up on her brother about her crush, Sebastian. Wow, just by thinking of him made her heart feel like bursting.

 _-Haneul Park: I need your help_

 _-Minsoo Park: Did something go wrong?_

 _You're pregnant?_

 _-Haneul Park: NO!_

 _-Minsoo Park:_ _ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _-Haneul Park: It's Sebastian._

 _-Minsoo Park: What did he do?_

 _I'll beat the living hell out of him_

 _-Haneul Park: He's a good guy,_ _오빠_

 _I have a crush on him._

Al long paused followed. A second seemed to last a year for Jane as she collapsed on her hands, readying her tears to dribble down her rosy cheeks. She hoped that Minsoo won't spread this news to Sebastian as she wasn't ready to reveal her feelings to him yet. She escaped her thought train when she received a Skype call. It was her brother. She shakily accepted it after adjusting her camera.

"Haneul?" Minsoo called. Jane covered her face as she sheepishly waved at him. "We should talk about this, sis. I think I know what you want from me."She nodded. "You want my consulting, right?" Another nod.

 _I don't know what to do. I think I fell too hard on him._ Jane signaled. Minoo nodded, trying to think what to say.

"Haneul, among my experiences on having relationships… Hey, you haven't been on one, haven't you?" Jane shook her head. "Really? I thought you were going out with Hyunsoo?" She shook her head again vigorously.

 _He's just a friend._

"Okay, I'm sorry. Anyway, looks like it's time for the dating master to help you!" Minsoo joked. Jane gave a small laughter that released _some_ of her tension. She knew that he had some girlfriends in his life, but didn't know how he confessed or broke up. He hasn't been in a relationship in three years after his recent heartbreak.

'At least it's better than being a forever alone…' Jane thought.

"Okay. What do you like about him? I barely talked to him because I could only do so when he was with you during our Skype calls." Minsoo questioned, making the farmer think for some time. She scraped up what she liked about him the most and managed to compile them in her mind just as Minsoo gave her a funny look. "You can type it in chat if there are some words you can't say." He said.

 _He has the same interests as me. We like the same games and the same book series. He's a loner and is misunderstood as a slacker while he's so diligent and kind in the inside. I love that he wants to help me at the farm._

"Hmm, that makes sense. You do like him for his inside, huh? It's very different from my last ex." Just as Minsoo finished, a person that was anonymous to Jane approached him.

"Hey, who're you talking to?" The man asked.

"Oh, it's my sister. Do we have a new order?" Minsoo asked him.

"Well, nobody usually comes to this restaurant until four in the afternoon. We have time."

"Alright. Can you give me some space? I'm talking personal stuff with her." Minsoo replied, pointing at his phone screen, which was pointing at Jane's face.

"Okay, Minsoo." The man nodded, walking away.

"That was my colleague." Minsoo explained to her sister. "Anyway, what did you do? How did you interact with him?"

 _He helps me take care of the farm and I teach him sign language. We hang out more often than Abigail and Sam._

"Uh-huh. How did you grow your feelings for him?" By this, Jane started typing on the chat instead of using sign language.

 _-Haneul Park: It all started after the Flower Dance. Sebastian danced with me personally after everybody rejected me as a dance partner. Something started to grow on me as he started to become more kind to me and I returned by being friendlier to him. I finally realized that I was in love with him after he soothed me during a thunderstorm. The closest I've been to him was when I kissed him in the cheek._

A short paused followed, making Jane presume that Minsoo was reading the long text until she returned to the video chat.

"Kiss? Wow, you've gone pretty far." Jane nodded. "Okay, I see that you're REALLY into him. Let's see… To be honest, I support your heart. I do agree that Sebastian seems to really protect you and help you on your work. That's something a girl can fall for, I think.

"Love, Haneul, is something really complicating. You may not understand because you've never been on a relationship before. There's nothing to be sorry about. Whenever you have a crush on someone, you want to confess, right?" Minsoo asked. Jane nodded again, fully determined to even jot down his words through paper. "It's like a game of StarCraft, Haneul. It's completely random. You're surrounded by the fog of war and have no idea how your opponent will act to win a game. It's just like falling in love. You have absolutely no idea or at least think how your crush feels. Just like the game, you plan ahead and go for it! If it succeeds, congratulations! You've just escaped the single-zone! You've won the game and outwitted your opponent! If not, well… you're going to have to move on.

"I understand. Sebastian always comes to your farm to help, so you'll always stick close to him. But if he rejects you, you can just stay as best friends and move on! It'll be painful because… I'll assume that you know. I'll tell you this: According to my experience, confessing in beautiful backgrounds will increase your successes. Do you have any events in the Valley? Like… the New Years fireworks at the night sky?" Jane took a quick glance at her phone calendar. There were only two festivals during Summer. One was the Luau which was today, and the other was…

The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.

She didn't remember how it was like, but she did remember that it was always bright. 28th of Summer. Jane nodded. Perhaps then would be perfect. She showed her phone screen to her camera.

"Dance of the Moonlight Jellies? Sounds good enough. Try to go for it then! Remember, I'll always help you. For now, I have to go. A new order just appeared. Stay strong, Haneul! Good luck with your love!" Minsoo said, ending the Skype chat. Jane collapsed back on her chair, blushing. Confessions… this was something that she had never done before.

Can she do this?


	25. CHAPTER 24: Infiltration (Sebastian)

'I blew it! I God Damn blew it!' Sebastian snarled at himself as he parked his motorcycle in the Carpenter Shop's garage. Taking some rain, he opened the door, ignored his mother's greeting and entered his room. Closing his door tightly, he collapsed onto his couch. 'How can I be so stupid? I had my chance RIGHT THERE!' he thought. A rainy day together sharing an umbrella at the docks… Sebastian couldn't think of better alternatives. He imagined how it would have been if he actually took his chance to confess…

* * *

 _Sebastian and Jane stared at the wideness of the sea accompanied by the dark, rainy sky. His eyes were locked onto her cheek. Despite being wet, it looked so… smooth. So pure. His heart couldn't take it. It felt like it was going to detonate like a atomic bomb. Nodding, the raven-haired boy opened his mouth. "Jane?" She looked at him. His cheeks were rosy enough at this point. Jane wrapped her bottom lip on the top._

 _"You know, we've been together for a while, right?" He asked and he nodded. "What do you think of me?" Wait, wrong question. His mind panicked at this moment._

 _'You're such a nice person. You're diligent, nerdy, different…' Jane signaled._

 _"Wow, that's interesting."_

 _'…just like me.' She added. Sebastian's heart skipped a beat. He knew that all along, but the way Jane showed it was… heartwarming. She stared at him as if she wanted to ask why._

 _"I've been thinking about the way we see each other, you know? We're helping each other like we're meant to be…" He shuffled around his mind for the right word. Alas, there was none. Sebastian decided to use the first word that came into his mind. "…Family." Jane nodded. This was it. The mood seemed to perfect to not initiate. He would now reach the Point of No Return._

 _"Gah, this is hard." Sebastian muttered. "Okay, if the strings of fate tell me so, you're probably thinking what I'm thinking right now. I… I…" He stuttered._

 _"I like you, Jane. I can't get you off of my mind." He suddenly felt Jane's eyes widen and jaw drop. It soon turned into a smile. What did that mean? IS THAT A YES OR A NO?! Sebastian screamed in his mind. Just as his face slowly turned into a tomato…_

 _Jane nodded._

 _"Really?!" Sebastian exclaimed. He turned back, throwing his head back in laughter while making sure to protect Jane from the rain. He laughed and laughed by how easy it was all along and he had been scared for nothing. He turned back to her. Her smile was so wide that her white teeth shone. He could see her eyes sparkle with joy. "Are you serious?!" Jane nodded again. "Say it! SAY IT!" He screamed in happiness, despite knowing that she couldn't speak. Jane started to nod vigorously at this point. Sebastian had won. He threw himself to the farmer, wrapping his arms on her chest. She squeaked happily as the raven-haired boy's umbrella fell to the water below._

 _"First date?" Sebastian asked, locking his eyes on hers. Once again, Jane nodded. His arms slipped down onto Jane's waist and her arms snaked around his neck as the two engaged into a passionate kiss. "사랑해_ _(I love you.)" He muttered in her lips as the rain fell just for them._

* * *

"It would have been so if I weren't so cowardly!" Sebastian screamed at himself. It would have been perfect. His heart felt like it was about to burst into agony. He would normally take a cigarette and smoke to get rid of this sensation, but he liked Jane. He couldn't break her promise. The missed confession was no excuse. What could he do?

Just as Sebastian buried his head in his knees, drowning himself in his thoughts, the door opened, revealing Robin. "Sebby? I heard you scream and…" He heard his mother's words cut. He felt her approach him, sit down next to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Sebby, are you okay?" The raven-haired boy simply mumbled inaudible noises. "Did something happen to you?" He shook his head again. Then, something in Robin snapped.

"It's Jane, isn't it?" It was the nail in the coffin. Sebastian involuntarily nodded before realizing what he had done. Too late. He heard his mother chuckle. "Oh, Sebby. What did she do to you?" Sebastian had no choice. He slowly raised his head to speak.

"I screwed it, mom."

"Hm?"

"I missed it. The chance."

"Confession?" He nodded. "So you DO like her! Yoba, you're FINALLY opening yourself! I've been waiting so long for you to do that! How long have you liked her? Ever since she came here?" He shook his head.

"...since the Flower Dance…" He groaned.

"Why didn't you confess today? You like the rain and I saw you with Jane at the port after the Luau!"

"I was scared." He mumbled, in which Robin returned with a gasp of disbelief.

"Sebby, how long are you going to live inside your shell? I understand that you like to be left alone, but I can't bear to see you suffer because you're struggling to start a love relationship! I want to help you, Sebby."

"It's too late, mom. She must have lost the mood right now. God, how the hell am I going to face her?"

"Sebby, it's never too late for love!"

"She's all I think about…"

"AWWW!" Robin cooed.

"Mom!" Sebastian raised his head and whined. "I thought that the festive times would be the perfect opportunity, but it's gone."

"Sebby? Did you forget that there is ONE more Summer festival?" By Robin's words, the raven-haired boy thought for a while. What was it? He couldn't remember. "The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies?" Oh yeah, that's what it was. It was the festival where Sam nearly killed him by pushing him off of the port at 2016. "Should I be honest? Your father confessed his love to me during that festival, and because the jellies were so beautiful and it fit the mood so well, I accepted!"

"What does that have to do with me and Jane?" Sebastian asked.

"Why not try it again there? Build up your courage once more and confess to her in somewhere empty! I'll tell your step-father to not interfere!" A mouth-watering deal. Sebastian nodded after a short pause.

"Alright. Thanks mom." He thanked before going into a coughing fit.

"Sebby, did you catch a cold? Didn't you ride your bike home?"

"I did…" He wheezed and coughed loudly.

"Oh, Yoba. You have a cold! Go change your clothes and lie on the bed! I'll make you some tea that Jane gave us." Robin said before running back up the stairs.

* * *

Indeed, Sebastian was diagnosed with a serious cold. He could not help Jane in her farm work, thus Marnie had to take over until he was in tip-top shape. He was sad that he couldn't accompany her in purchasing chickens for the first time. She had bought two, naming them Papyrus and Sans. Sebastian could only smirk weakly as he talked to Jane through Facebook Messenger.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Undertale? Really?_

 _-Haneul Park: Why not? :D_

 _They're so cute!_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: I wish I could be there._

 _Stupid cold._

 _-Haneul Park: Aw_

 _Get well soon!_

 _3_

A HEART?! Sebastian's own heart started to skip beats. Never would he have thought that a virtual circulatory organ would stimulate his to work faster. Flustering, he could only smile before falling to sleep once again. He missed her.

* * *

It was now one week since the Luau. His cold was somewhat gone, but he couldn't walk properly because of how dizzy his world was. His lungs kept filling up with disgusting fluid produced by pathogens, making him cough roughly. Mumbling himself awake, Sebastian slowly opened his eyes to find…

…Sam?!

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sebastian grunted.

"Bro, I'm not ready to see my true love die." Sam joked.

"Go to hell."

"Welcome to my hell!" The blonde boy mimicked an evil laugh. Oh boy, could the raven-haired boy feel his hell already.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to talk."

"You don't say…"

"Nah, bro. I'm dead serious. We need to talk about Jane." As soon as Sam finished, Sebastian's attention immediately locked into him. "Heh, you're acting like Jane's your god or something."

"Shut up and spit it out."

"We saw Jane using Skype to talk with her brother. Abigail thinks that she was being consulted by him."

"What the hell does Abigail have to do here?!"

"Listen. I don't know why would she do that, but Abby spied her through her window. She overheard some Korean leaking from her brother."

"That's disgusting! Why would she do that?!"

"Let me finish. On the account, I do that to you, too…"

"WHAT?!"

"…She managed to understand some of what he was saying and mostly heard the words love, relationship… do you get the hint?" Sebastian frowned at Sam's words. What the hell is he talking about?

"What the hell? I don't even…"

"You don't? Are you THAT thick-headed? Don't those words hit your brain?" Sam exclaimed. "Come on, bro! Even Vincent would understand! SHE LIKES YOU!" Sebastian was shocked. How does he know that even if in any chance he was right?

"...but what if Jane was talking about how she wants to avoid a relationship…?" Sebastian wheezed.

"Only an idiot would think like that! Why would she get consulted when it's not about having a relationship?! Okay, I want to know why you're doing heck-all!" Sam cleared his throat, and continued. "Did you get rejected?" Sebastian shook his head. "Demetrius got in your way?"

"No, luckily." The raven-haired boy groaned.

"Alright. You must be scared then. Typical Sebastian Callahan! Always scared to make the first step! No wonder you've never had a relationship before!"

"Wait!" Sebastian stopped him with a raspy voice. "How did YOU confess to Penny?"

"Wanna know?" Sam asked and the raven-haired boy nodded. "Alright, sit next to the fireplace and prepare some lube, boy! I'm about to tell you the hottest confession story in planet Earth!"

"...lube?" Sebastian repeated, but it was ignored.

* * *

 _"A message, from Penny?" 17-year old Sam asked himself, looking at his phone. He stopped the jamming session and checked the message._

 _'-Penny Anderson: Come to the spa tonight. I have something to say.' Wow. This was making Sam's heart pump in a rate he had never experienced before._

 _He had a crush on Penny ever since they continued seeing each other as best friends. He would sneak into her trailer's room and spend their time together talking about their lives and even show her how to play League of Legends. Now that she had invited him to such a place where he would be in his trunks, he knew that something was up._

 _"What's taking so long?" Sebastian asked._

 _"Ah, it's nothing." Sam replied, blushing._

 _"Sam, why are you blushing? Is it Penny again?" Abigail asked. "Are we about to have our first couple among us three?"_

 _"I don't know, Abby!" Sam interrupted. "L...let's continue. And a 1, and a 2, and a 1, 2, 3 go!"_

 _It was seven at night. The sun was now practically gone and darkness has engulfed Pelican Town. Sam packed his bag with a large towel,shampoo, gel and his swimming trunks. Just as everything was set, Jodi stopped the blonde boy when he opened the house door._

 _"Sam, where are you going?"_

 _"Ah, it's… it's… well, Seb called me for help in his… homework." What a stupid excuse, not to mention a lie._

 _"Okay, sure. Come back soon!" Jodi nodded as she walked back into the kitchen._

 _'Wow, that worked?!' Sam exclaimed in his mind and walked out of his house. What could Penny want to talk, especially in the bathhouse?_

 _Sam stripped whatever he was wearing and changed to his swimming trunks. His body was red due to how much he was blushing. Penny would probably be accompanied with Leah and Maru, so he would be very embarrassed. He approached the door that would lead to the pools. Taking a deep breath, Sam opened it. The atmosphere was damp and warm unlike the cold, freezing air of the snowy outside. The water of the large pool gave steam as it evaporated and condensed back as there was nowhere for them to escape. Shivering, Sam dipped himself in the water. The warmth of the water fought off his coldness. That's amazing. He walked around in the pool, searching for his crush to not find her. He turned around a corner to find…_

 _...Penny._

 _She was alone. The place she was swimming around was also invisible from the entrance. He couldn't help but to blush at what she was wearing: a lacy sky-blue swimming dress._

 _"There you are. I thought you didn't receive my text…" Penny said, hiding her face on her shoulders. Wow, she was pretty._

 _"Yeah, I did." Sam replied._

 _"Do you know why I called you here?"_

 _"You have something to say, right?"_

 _"Yes, that's right." Penny replied. Sam noticed that the distance between the two seemed to… close? Penny looked around their surroundings, then turned back to the blonde boy. "Looks like we're all alone." Sam's heart felt like it was about to burst. What was she trying to say?_

 _"Wh-why here?" Sam mustered the courage to speak. Suddenly, Penny started to blush! She was from the beginning, but her face was becoming tidier than before._

 _"I've been trying to find a way to tell you…" she paused._

 _"'Oh god, why pause?!' Sam screamed in her mind. His heart was about to explode by just seeing her._

 _"...about how I feel."_

 _What? Is this… a confession?_

 _"I can't stop thinking about you. I...mmf!" My the time Penny spilled her heart, Sam had already embraced her and pressed his lips against her. "I will never forget this night." She mumbled through their lips. Somewhere inside Sam… there was something that fired up. Could it be… lust?_

 _"I know a way you can make tonight even more unforgettable." He sneered as he started touching her sensitive parts…_

* * *

"Okay, stop right THERE." Sebastian interrupted Sam, coughing with his mouth covered. He was flustered by where Sam was going with his story. "You never told me that you're gonna tell me a smut."

"Why? You watch those videos! Of course you'll be interested!" Sam joked.

"Sam, NO." But the blonde boy continued anyway.

* * *

 **-COMMENCE 4TH BREAK!-**

 **"...but I won't continue." Sam suddenly said. Sebastian gave him a funny look. What is this guy trying to say?**

 **"Because… look for yourself." He added, pointing at the you.**

 **"Oh, right. The reader." Sebastian sighed. "Thank god. Praise the sun that this fan fiction is a rated T."**

 **"Well, the rated M fiction you's gonna suffer!" Sam chuckled. "Hey reader! Are you dirty like me?" He asked you.**

 **"Please tell me you aren't." Sebastian grunted at you.**

 **"Well, if you are, the author might publish NSFW versions of this chapter and any other that we break fourth walls in! You might have to wait for him to publish those!"**

 **"Please don't and close down this break…" Sebastian muttered as he coughed out viscous saliva. He forced the 4th wall break close.**

 **-END OF 4TH WALL BREAK!-**

* * *

"Jesus Christ, Sam. I didn't have to know that!" Sebastian wheezed.

"The more you know!" Sam shrugged, plastering a funny smile. The raven-haired boy sighed. He'll never see Penny the same again. "You have plans? For Jane?"

"I do. Dance of the Moonlight Jellies."

"The Jellies? Sounds perfect! I think that's how Leah and Elliott confessed." Sam agreed. "You should, too! You know, her family and all." Right. Sebastian had to agree on that. How would Jane's brother react when he witnessed him confessing to his sister? He didn't want to know. "At least you have a plan. Look, I gotta go help mom. Think about my story!" With that, the blonde boy went out of his room, giving Sebastian liberty to think. For the first time, he found that guy actually helpful. Strangest of all…

… could his story be helpful, too?

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: As Sam and Sebastian had mentioned, The Signal is a Rated T fan fiction. NSFW parts will be censored with a 4th wall break. Chapters with such breaks will be rewritten uncensored in a rated M version in the future. If you would like that, leave a review!**

 **Thank you from Aperture!**

 **AperutreGaming011**

 **PS- There seems to be a bug in the website where the story won't state the correct time up update. It has been 23 hours since the last chapter, but it doesn't change. Please consider this and enjoy the chapter!**


	26. CHAPTER 25: Sarang (Jane)

CHAPTER 25: SARANG (JANE)

Jane's heart fell when she heard that Sebastian had caught a bad cold. Her mind split in two as she realized that she won't be with Sebastian for some time. She felt something empty inside her while she tried her best to plaster a smile on her face to not upset Marnie. She was still receiving help, anyway.

She decided to buy chickens from the Ranch owner the three days after the Luau. 'If only Seb was here with me…' She sighed as she looked at the numerous chickens in the large coop. Shane was throwing kernels of corn at the numerous and various chickens, ranging from big, small, brown, white… They were so adorable to Jane. The only thing she found questioning her past biology studies were the unusually blue chickens. She rubbed her eyes to confirm what she was seeing was real, and indeed they were. She decided to approach Shane, who was hugging a white chicken, and tapped his shoulder.

"Buh? Oh, hey Jane." Shane grumbled, patting the chicken's head. "Make it fast. I haven't got the time." That was harsh. Jane decided to keep the question for herself until she saw Marnie glaring at him.

"Shane, watch your manners!" Marnie scolded.

"What does she want from me? I don't talk to strangers."

"Stranger?! She's been here for an entire Season! Of course she's not a stranger!"

"Whatever. Charlie, I'll be with you later." Shane partially apologized before laying the white chicken down. When he saw it waddle back its friends, he turned to the farmer. "Get on with it." With that, Jane started typing.

 _Where did you get blue chickens?_

"Blue chickens, eh? Huh, I guess Shane Lannister, the Chicken Master should tell you. Okay. Those chickens are unique in this place. Can't find them anywhere else."

 _They're so cute!_

"Yeah, for girls like you, it could be. How old are you again?" Jane was confused. Why would he want to know her age? Shrugging, she pointed one finger, then eight.

"Eighteen? Whoa, you're ten years younger than me? Cool." Shane replied.

"Jane, Go ahead choose a chick that you want!" Marnie said. Nodding, Jane limped around the coop while looking around. So many chickens and they were all cute! She wanted EVERY single one, but due to her not having her credit card right now, having only 2000 Galleons in her wallet and having absolutely no experience in farm animals, she decided to go for two young chicks. Jane looked at Marnie and pointed at two relatively big yellow chicks.

"Those two? I see!" Marnie beamed as she picked them up. The chicks chirped as they looked around to see what was going on. Jane couldn't help but smile at how adorable they were when she stroked one of the chick's head and it reacted by squinting its eyes. "Cute?" The ranch owner asked and Jane nodded. "Are you sure you want these two?" She nodded again. "Great! One chicken is 800 Galleons, so… that would be 1600!" Jane smiled. She was more than ready to sacrifice anything to take care of animals.

* * *

Jane paid for her chicks and noted down everything that Marnie instructed on how to take good care of these avian balls of feather. With everything set, she ordered Shane to accompany the farmer back to her farm with the two chicks, which Jane named Sans and Papyrus, the two skeleton brothers of Undertale. The walk back to the farm with a man ten years older than her was silent and awkward. When they arrived at the farm coop, Shane simply lowered the chicks on the hay and gave the farmer a bag of seeds.

"It's what they eat. Take good care of them or I'll come beat you up, okay?" Shane asked. Jane nodded and the man was gone. A long pause followed and ended when Papyrus the chick chirped, making her smile as she voluntarily collapsed on the hay next to her chicks. She remembered how she used to play with her grandfather's chickens when she was a little child. Oh, the memories started to flood in as the chicks ran up to her and bumped their heads on her fleshy leg.

'Oh, 할아버지 (Grandpa), if you could see me now…' Jane thought. She pulled her phone out, took a selfie with her chicks and posted it in Facebook.

* * *

A few more days have passed and Sebastian's health didn't seem to improve. It was the 22nd of Summer and She really wanted to see how he was holding up, but Robin prevented her due to infection. Her plan seemed to be jeopardized. If he wouldn't recover in time, he might not be able to come for this Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, thus she won't have the chance to confess. She could only let fate decide what would happen to both of them. Her heart felt like it was about to explode just by thinking about him.

'How did Minsoo handle this?' she thought as she dropped grains of seeds on the mangers for Papyrus and Sans to eat. If her brother had been in multiple relationships, then he would have felt the same as Jane, but in an unbearable scale. She pushed the negativity out of her mind. Sebastian will recover in time. She knew it. All she needed to do was to stay diligent. When she finished all of her farm work for the day, she pulled her phone out and checked her Facebook. A lot of comments have been posted ever since she had posted her chicken selfie.

 _-Abigail Berneau: OMG SO CUTE_

 _-Haley Laveri: Congrats chopstick leg_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: Why are you calling my sister chopstick leg?_

 _=Haley Laveri's reply: Nobody asked you_

 _=Minsoo Park's reply: I'm her brother._

 _-Jiwoo Bae: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ_ _So adorable!_

 _-Hyunsoo Kim: What are their names?_

 _=Haneul Park's Reply: Papyrus and Sans!_

 _=Hyunsoo Kim's reply: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_ _Undertale ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

Aside of the fight between her brother and Haley, Jane was happy about the positive feedback from her friends. She went back into her house to play some videogames and chat with Sebastian.

* * *

Today, 28th of Summer, was the day. It was the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. Jane remembered to read the letter written by Demetrius that said that the event will take place at ten at night. She smiled and nodded. Fate had joined her side because Sebastian had finally recovered! In fact, she was with him right now, doing farm work together! They were just picking the last blueberry harvest of Summer. The air was significantly colder than during the middle. Jane was eager to show Sebastian her chicks, which grew significantly bigger than when she bought them from Marnie.

"Wow, they're cute. I guess." Sebastian said. Jane nodded in response as she picked up some seeds in the bag and dropped them in the manger.

 _They'll produce eggs!_ Jane signaled.

"I'm sure they will." The raven-haired boy replied, cradling Sans. "I still can't believe that you named your chickens Undertale characters." Jane giggled in response, making him blush relatively heavily. "Let's start class." Jane nodded, Sebastian put Sans down and walked into the farmhouse.

* * *

"…So that's how you say 'I think I can take care of your dog'?" Sebastian asked as he moved his hands around to repeat the sentence on the book into sign language. Jane nodded a she smiled with rosy cheeks. "Heh, looks like I got that correct." He smiled and gave Jane a high-five. The raven-haired boy's determination to learn what Jane uses to communicate made the farmer's heart melt. Her heart started to turn towards this boy ever since the Flower Festival. It first started as just coincidental heart skips, but as time passed and they spent more time together, the reality proved her that coincidence wasn't the word Jane was looking for. She had finally realized that she had fallen in love with him after her first marksmanship training session. For the first time, she felt lucky that she was mute; she would mess up her friendship with him if she poured out her heart through words at the wrong time.

Jane snapped back to reality when Sebastian spoke. "You know about today's Jellies, right?" She nodded. "Well… it's the day when Sam and Penny stick like glue, FYI." He sighed, looking up to the ceiling.

'I wonder if he's lonely… just like me.' Jane thought. The festival might be the best time to confess her feelings to this boy. She would watch the Jellies from a secluded place and confess…

No, maybe not. There could be an alternative.

Jane wanted to make the confession as romantic and moody as possible. She and Abigail had been watching a shelf worth of K-Dramas lately…

K-Dramas…? _THAT'S IT!_

Her very outfit reminded her of most of the confession scenes there that had no relations with cities. 'I could reenact one of them!' Jane thought to herself. She remembered the big tree in Cindersap forest. It could be the perfect place to confess!

Just as she was flooded with thoughts, Sebastian tapped on her shoulder.

"Jane, are you alright?" He asked. Blushing, she nodded. "Alright, then." He replied, looking back at his sign language book. After a few more minutes, he closed the book. "Well, I guess that does it for today's learning." Indeed, the clock struck 2: 30, the anticipated end of today's lecture. There were seven hours left until the event. Jane had to act quickly if she was to confess to Sebastian. Taking her phone, she started typing and showed the screen to her crush.

 _Can you wait until I take a bathroom break?_

"I can wait for that." Sebastian replied. "If you need help, call me." Jane nodded as she managed to get up from her seat and limp her way into her room and eventually the bathroom.

'Stupid prosthetics!' Jane swore in her mind and shut the door. After locking the door, she immediately unlocked her phone and opened Facebook Messenger. Then, she searched for her Abigail's chat room and started typing.

 _-Haneul Park: Abby?_

 _Abby?_

 _Please respond…_

A minute seemed to have passed until Jane received a response. Her heart fell.

 _-Abigail Berneau: What's up?_

 _-Haneul Park: I'm pretty sure you know what's happening to me, right?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: Is it your crush on Seb?_

Oh boy, this would be the first time Jane would open her feelings to Abigail. Taking a deep breath, the farmer continued.

 _-Haneul Park: Yes_

 _-Abigaill Berneau: What about it? I knew it for the long time XD_

She knew?! That was awkward. Jane knew that should she answer Abigail's question, there will be a big chance that she will embarrass herself. However, during the days when she wasn't with Sebastian, she realized that she couldn't initiate her plan alone. Thus, taking a deep breath and knowing that there will be no turning back, Jane started typing.

 _-Haneul Park: I want to confess to him today._

A long pause followed. 'What have I done?' Jane thought to herself as she crashed down to the floor, covering her face with her hands.

*Ding!

Trembling, she looked at what Abigail sent her.

 _-Abigail Berneau: OMG_

 _OMG_

 _I'M SQUEALING RIGHT NOW!_

 _I KNEW THIS DAY WOULD COME!_

 _-Haneul Park: you did?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: Of course I did!_

 _-Haneul Park: I feel so embarrassed_

 _-Abigail Berneau: don't be!_

 _You two are so cute together!_

 _How can I help?_

 _Should I sing for you?_

 _-Haneul Park: NO_

 _-Abigail Berneau: LOL_

 _Then?_

 _-Haneul Park: can you buy me a bouquet?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: AWWW_

 _Of course!_

 _When should I give you?_

 _-Haneul Park: i'll come over and get it._

 _Jane paused. After thinking, she continued._

 _-Haneul Park: 3:00_

 _-Abigail Berneau: already bought it form my dad!_

 _-Haneul Park: bought? Dad?_

Just as Jane finished typing, a knock on the restroom door startled her.

"Jane? Are you okay in there?" Sebastian's voice called. Realizing that she had been hiding in the restroom for ten minutes, Jane picked up her pace and typed away.

 _-Haneul Park: I'm on my way. See you at the Store_

 _-Abigail Berneau: Good luck, Jane! XD_

* * *

Jane and Sebastian walked out of the gate of her farm and walked eastward towards Pelican Town. The farm girl was wearing a large purse for the bouquet that Abigail promised to give her. Although this seemed to have sparked curiosity in Sebastian's mind, he shrugged it off as he pulled out a pack of chewing gum and popped a wad of gum into his mouth. Jane remembered how she cried during that night when she found out that this boy coughed out blood due to his smoking habit. She was surprised and heart warmed that he decided to quit.

Did he do it just for her, though? If so, she would fall deeper into love with him.

When the duo reached Pierre's General Store, Sebastian received a text message. "Oh dear, looks like it's Sam again." He grunted once reading it.

 _You should be with him._ Jane signed.

"Are you sure? I've just came back to you after the cold!"

 _I was invited by Abby here_. Jane typed on her phone, since she couldn't say her name I sign language.

"Aw, I thought you liked to spend time with me or something… anyway, never mind. Have fun, Jane!" Sebastian waved as he walked to Sam's House. As the raven-haired boy was out of sight, Jane faced the wall and clenched her chest. How did he know that she enjoyed their hangouts? Her heart felt like bursting. She took a deep breath and opened the glass doors. Immediately, Abigail rushed out of her room and threw herself to the farmer.

"Jane, you have to come inside! You don't want Seb to overhear me helping you!" Abigail beamed, winking. Jane looked away, hiding her blush as she was dragged into the purple-haired girl's room.

* * *

Jane practically suffered by how much talking Abigail did. She talked about what she knew about Sebastian and how Sam managed to gather information about him while the farmer played Overwatch in her computer.

"I don't know how you don't know that Sebastian likes you back!" Abigail exclaimed. What?! Jane hid her character in a safe spot and turned around, giving her a funny look. "You didn't know? Sam confronted Seb last week and you know what he said? He likes you back! He wanted to confess during the Luau but he messed up!" Jane was flabbergasted. So the hangout under the umbrella was supposed to be the day! She sighed about the unfortunate event. "...and I don't understand how in Yoba's name you two aren't together!" Hearing this, Jane's cheeks started heating up. She wondered why, too. "Aww, you're so cute when you turn into a tomato! Anyway, I don't want to interrupt you in your kill streak, but have you ever been in a relationship?" Jane shook her head. During her life as a mute girl, everybody hated her except for her friends. "What?! How did you even live your school days, girl?!" Abigail asked in disbelief. Jane turned back to Overwatch and switched her hero from Sombra to Ana. She continued playing until she won the match. With that out of the way, she picked up her phone and started typing.

 _I'm scared._

"Why?"

 _I don't want to ruin my friendship with him_. Seeing this, Abigail gave a sigh of disappointment.

"Jane, did you even listen to what I've just said? He likes you too! There's NO WAY he'll reject you! It'll be like a dream for you two!" Just as Abigail finished talking, the clock struck five.

Five hours left until the Dance. At the same time, Jane received a text message from Sebastian.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: hey_

 _-Haneul Park: hiiii_

 _What's up?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: i'm fine_

 _If Sam stops bothering me_

 _-Haneul Park: lol_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Should I go pick you up?_

Jane dipped herself in thought. To initiate her plan properly, she will need Sebastian to meet her at the Cindersap tree. She continued typing.

 _-Haneul Park: It's ok_

 _Can you meet me that the forest?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: ?_

 _-Haneul Park: the big tree?_

 _I want to talk about something._

 _-Sebastian Callahan: tree…?_

 _OH_

 _THAT tree_

 _Ok sure_

 _Be there soon_

"It's Seb, is it?" Abigail asked when Jane locked her phone after a conversation with Sebastian. Jane nodded, but hid her ruddy face with her hands. "Aww, Jane! I told you, Sam confirmed that he might feel the same! Best of all, tonight's the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies! It's the perfect time to confess!"

 _But what if I fail?_ Jane typed.

"Oh, Jane! We talked about this just thirty minutes ago! Where do you plan to confess?" Trembling by Abigail's question, Jane typed her answer.

 _The big tree_

"Tree? What do you mean...?" Just as Jane was about to type her answer, the purple-haired girl clapped her hands in realization. "Oh my god! That tree in the forest?!" Jane nodded. Soon enough, Abigail threw herself to Jane and squealed in delight. "YOU'RE SO ROMANTIC!" She screamed. Jane buried her face in Abigail's shoulder while blushing even heavier. "You know, Seb's going to be the luckiest boy in the world with you around!" Abigail said once releasing Jane. She handed the mute farmer the bouquet. "Take it! You asked for it! Go get 'em, girl!" With that, Abigail playfully pushed the farmer out of the General Store. With a sigh, Jane leaned on the notifications' board and thought. Today will be the day when the friendship she had forged between Sebastian and her will be changed. Should her confession be accepted, she will form a new and stronger bond with him and perhaps last together eternally. It was the path that she yearned for ever since the beginning of her puberty, but failed to accomplish. In other words, they will enter in an unbreakable relationship. Should it fail, their friendship will be shattered.

'No, Jane. I can do this. You can do this. He likes me, too.' Jane took a deep breath and walked west towards Cindersap forest. The time was coming near.

* * *

Jane waited and waited under the big tree on the forest for her crush to appear. It was already five in the afternoon and the sun was almost closing in at the mountains. She thought of all the scenarios that might unfold in just a few minutes. She could be embracing Sebastian under the tree with joy engulfing her... Or left crying under the tree with suicidal thoughts with him walking away from her. Oh, how she wanted to push the negative thoughts away. Her heart raced as time passed. In fact, it raced so fast that Jane felt like it was a ticking bomb.

Over Marnie's Ranch, Jane noticed a familiar figure walking towards the tree she was standing under.

Sebastian.

Jane's heart skipped a beat. When his focus turned to her, he jogged to the tree. He stopped a meter away from her while gasping for breath. "I'm here. Sorry for the wait." He said.

 _It's okay._ Jane signed.

"Kind of a strange place to wanting to have a conversation, to be honest." Jane simply shrugged. Sebastian wasn't an outside person, anyway. She didn't care deep in her heart, however.

 _Thanks for coming here for me._

"You're welcome." Sebastian replied, slightly blushing. She didn't know why, but his smile made Jane's heart melt. After an awkward pause together, Sebastian started the conversation. He first talked about some new video game articles that he had found on the Internet that intrigued him. Of course, it also intrigued Jane, not just because she loved videogames much as him, but also because she wanted to be with him. After that, the conversation shifted to some funny stories that Jane and Sebastian told each other. They shared laughter which eased Jane's tension, but it returned whenever she saw his face. Finally, when silence returned, Sebastian started something that she was waiting for.

"Jane, I... I don't know how I should say this... But... I want to thank you." Sebastian said, his face starting to heat up even more. "I used to be ignored by everybody in this town. The mayor, Sam, Abigail... Even my family... They never understood how I wanted to be different. But then... There's you. You understood that I wanted to stand out from the normal and simply accepted who I am. This..." He sniffed. "This is the first time I've received such treatment other than my real dad." Jane stared at him while slightly opening her mouth. She never knew that he was facing such torture. The fact that he basically stated that she was his savior... It made her heart race even faster for him. "What did you call me here for, though?" Jane felt heavy machine guns in her stomach. This was it. She will now be reaching the Point of No Return. She was so nervous, but with Sebastian staring right at her face, it didn't help at all. Mustering what was left of her courage, Jane began giving signs to him. First pointing at herself, second tapping at her head, third pointed back at her then finally, the cherry of the cake, the rock-and-roll symbol.

 _I think I love you._

"Hmm? You think you... What? You think you like heavy metal?" Sebastian asked. Jane felt agitated by how he didn't understand. In the other hand, however, she was relieved that she received more time. "Hang on. Let me search what it means." Sebastian added as he reached for his book from his backpack. Uh-oh. Jane quickly reached for the book but she was too short for the raven-haired boy. She futilely attempted to snatch the book away as Sebastian flipped through the pages until he stopped.

"Hey, I think I found it! Apparently, it's not a rock-and-roll symbol! It means... Oh... Oh..." He dropped the book.

'It's over.' Jane thought as tears rolled from her eyes. Was this the end of their friendship? Her world crashed down around her as Sebastian looked away from her while hiding his blush. He would walk away soon. She closed her eyes, oozing more tears to await her imminent demise. However, she felt something touch her.

"Jane?" She heard Sebastian say. She sealed her eyes tighter as she revealed the bouquet hidden from her dress and thrust it to his direction. "Please, look at me." Jane shook her head. "Come on. Please. I want to say something." She felt heat surround her once again as she slowly opened her eyes to find the raven-haired boy right on chest.

"You know, ever since the Flower Festival, I felt something grow inside of me. It... It... I don't know how to explain it, but... It was warm. It fueled my determination to do anything. I felt like I wanted to do something more. But... Whenever you were around, it felt... Stronger. It was like I could take on the world.

"As time passed, I realized that all of this was because of you, Jane. I started to feel more lonely whenever I left your farm. Now... Now... Jesus, this is hard, you know? Damn... You're all I think of and..." Sebastian gently placed his one hand on Jane's waist and the other hand stroked her tear-stained cheek. "...You're all I think about. I can't concentrate in my work and even in my everyday life. God, you drive me up the wall." With every word expelled from his mouth, Jane felt fear. Anxiety. Joy. Her heart gave a jolt as if it restarted. "In other words..." He slowly leaned towards her face and placed his lips gently into hers, but released soon. "...I didn't know you felt the same." With the small kiss that he gave her, Jane couldn't help but turn into a tomato. All of her fear was now gone. It was a dream, was it? She hoped not. She saw tears roll down Sebastian's cheeks, too as leaves started falling from the tree above them.

"Jane, I used to want to get out of Pelican Town. But with you here, I don't want to. I want to stay. With you around, the Valley feels like home. I want you to be my sky, Haneul. I..." That was enough. All of this was enough to Jane as she threw herself to him and buried her soaked face on his shoulder blade. She felt a smile form on Sebastian's face, making her the happiest girl in Stardew Valley. Jane temporarily retracted her head and planted the deepest yet the most passionate kiss full onto Sebastian's lips as the leaves fell just for them like the nature's confetti. She didn't want to let go.

Jane held her now lover tightly as she started sobbing. Tears of hot joy dribbled down her cheeks, soaking Sebastian's shirt. Her dreams are now reality. The one who she truly wanted and cared about was now holding her in his arms. "Jane, you're crying." Sebastian said. Jane simply nodded as she tried her best to prevent more tears from escaping her eyes. Just as the raven-haired boy held her chin up to wipe her tears, Jane's crying face slowly replaced itself with a bright smile. She gave a quick peck on his lips. She had been so stupid for doubting their relationship, which induced a giggle. Her giggles were contagious, as Sebastian started laughing along.

"I love you, Jane. How do I say this… 사랑...해. Yeah." He said. Jane nodded and buried her face on his chest.

* * *

An eternity seemed to have passed when Jane and Sebastian released themselves. The sun was now nowhere to be found and the sky was golden.

 _I don't know how I'll forget this day_. Jane signed.

"We won't."Sebastian replied, looking at the sky. "It's getting dark. Should we go inside?" Jane nodded.

 _Let's eat at my house!_

"Sounds good." The raven-haired boy replied as he held Jane's hand tightly and walked to Agria Farm.

* * *

The new couple's contact session didn't seem to end there. It was now 9:30 PM and thirty minutes until the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. Jane was watching Sebastian play StarCraft on her computer on the bed. She didn't know how to get her eyes and heart off from him. When the clock struck the mentioned time, Sebastian helped Jane on his motorcycle and sped to the beach.

The air of the beach was fresh and salty. The constellations illuminated the skies and the sounds of crashing waves sang the Song of the Seas. The only artificial lights were small dim lanterns that fought the darkness of the night. The townspeople were gathering around on the dock either talking to each other, walking around or staring at the dark abyss eager to see the jellyfish. All the attention shifted to the Sebastian-Jane couple when they arrived with one of their hands wrapped around each other.

"Could they be… together?" Jodi asked.

"Wow, looks like Pelican Town will have another couple." Marnie replied.

"Wonder what Jane's family will think when they come tomorrow." Caroline mumbled as the couple set foot on the woody docks. The two walked to where Sam, Abigail and Penny were standing. Penny noticed Jane first greeted them, but her attention immediately turned to their wrapped hands.

"Are you two...together?" Penny gasped. Abigail and Sam turned around to see what was going on. When Jane nodded, Abigail started to hop around and squeal.

"OH MY GOD! CONGRATULATIONS! I KNEW YOU TWO COULD DO IT!" The purple-haired girl shouted.

"Abby, you'll break the wood!" Sam warned. "Anyway, I knew you could do it, bro!"

"Go to hell." Sebastian flipped him off. "Well, looks like we now have only one single in our gang to make fun of." He added, staring at Abigail.

"What?!" Abigail exclaimed. Jane burst into laughter as she rubbed her cheek on her now-boyfriend's arm.

"Mom told me that your family's coming tomorrow." Sam said to the farmer. She nodded in response.

"How should we introduce ourselves?" Penny added.

"Is your brother strong?" Abigail butted in.

"Abby, why do you care so much about her brother?" The purple-haired turned away by Sebastian's question. Jane looked at Penny and began moving her hands around. Penny stared, processed, and nodded at every move. She turned to her friends.

"She said that her parents will stay here for a month and help her on the farm, be with the community. Her brother will try to be friends with us and… uh… train his cooking skills."

"Cooking? Ooh! I'll definitely taste his food… oh wait. Damnit…" Abigail facepalmed once she realized what she had said.

"Yup, she's into him." Sam whispered into Sebastian's ear. He nodded in response. Just then, Vincent ran up to the gang, jolly as ever.

"Miss Penny! Mayor Lewis released the boat! The Jellies are here!" He chirped. Jane looked at the water to find the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. One by one, shining jellyfish swam closer to the dock, dancing the Dance of their Kind as they welcomed the townspeople with warming radiance. Among some of the jellyfish were accompanied by tiny juvenile Jellies that glimmered by their parents' light. Sebastian helped Jane sit on the dock's edge and sat next to her, arm wrapped around her shoulder.

This was what Jane remembered as a child, when she skipped around in joy, tugging on her grandfather's pants and stared at the Jellies with Abigail and Sam. Now, here she is again, in the arms of the boy that she loved, taking selfies and recording the jellyfish's activity. It was so pretty, yet tiring to watch such beauty. Jane lowered her head on Sebastian's shoulders until she saw something. It was a jelly, but it looked different. It was flat and radiated green as if it was a bouncy glob of emerald.

"Wow, that's the rare one." Sebastian commented. Immediately, Jane took a picture of it. "You're one lucky girl, Jane." She giggled. "...and I'm lucky to have you." Sebastian added, making Jane heartwarmingly whine and bury her face on his shoulder blades.

* * *

It was midnight when the Jellies swam south towards the Gem Sea to venture the great unknown of the Mediterranean Sea. The townspeople left the beach one by one, and Jane was no exception. After bidding their friends goodbye, the couple sped back to Agria Farm with warmth wrapped around the two.

"So, they're coming tomorrow, huh? Your parents, I mean." Sebastian asked.

 _I can't wait!_ Jane signed.

"Well, I hope they'll understand that we're together." Sebastian added. "I mean, you told me that Minsoo's a bit overprotective, so… I'm scared." He chuckled.

 _He'll like you as a friend. You'll be amazed by his food_. And with Jane's signs, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a tender kiss. She didn't want to let go, but knowing that they'll meet again tomorrow, she released her lips and let go.

"See you tomorrow, Jane. Wanna go on a date?" Jane vigorously nodded by Sebastian's suggestion. "Oh, and happy nineteenth birthday." He added as he pecked her lips and drove off up the mountain. Giving a sigh of contentment and clenching her chest, Jane limped back to her house, washed up and prepared for bed. After having a hearty chat with her now boyfriend, she made one final adjustment in her Facebook before falling into sweet undisturbed slumber.

 _Haneul Park and Sebastian Callahan are now in a relationship_.


	27. CHAPTER 26: Meeting (Sebastian)

'Wow, never have I felt this happy…' Sebastian thought as he parked his motorcycle in the Carpenter's Shop. He was holding the bouquet that Jane gave her when she confessed. He didn't know how he would let go of it. It's roses were so bright and beautiful, just like the farmer herself.

Just before he opened the door, Sebastian hid the bouquet on his back with one hand. With his other, he opened the door and entered. As soon as this happened, Robin came out from her room in her pajamas.

"Sebby?" She asked groggily. "You're exceptionally happy." Indeed, the raven-haired boy was smiling uncontrollably. He tried to hide it and show his usual gloomy attitude, but judging by today's events, he just couldn't. Could there be times better than this? He snapped back to reality when he realized that his mother was right in front of him. "What's that behind you?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Sebastian hastily replied, backing away, but Robin was not the one to simply nod it off. He knew how tenacious she was.

"Sebby, don't lie to me. Is it one of those adult magazines?" The carpenter frowned as she maneuvered her hand around his back. Sebastian did his best to defend the bouquet from his mother's sight with all costs through ducking and weaving while backing nearer to his basement steps, but just before he was about to close the door of his room, he made one mistake and Robin snatched it away. Blushing, he saw Robin stare at the bundle of roses, flabbergasted.

"...d-did Jane give you this?" Sebastian nodded, sighing in defeat.

"She did it first." He simply replied, not daring to look at Robin directly.

"Oh Yoba, OH Yoba! My son… he's finally grown up!" Robin whimpered, tightly hugging her son to the point he choked. "I'm so happy that you're not alone anymore, Sebby!"

"Whatever, mom. Look, I need to go help Jane tomorrow morning. Jesus, I even have to work in my programming…"

"Okay, Sebby! I'll put these in a pot and put it on the table for you!" Robin beamed before walking back to her room. Sebastian sighed after closing the door behind him. On his desk, he saw a bundle of flowers that he had bought yesterday. The petals were blue in color and it's beauty perhaps matched her now girlfriend's roses.

'Right. I was supposed to give these to her today.' He remembered when he held the bouquet. 'I guess this'll be her birthday present.' He thought as he sat on the computer chair and started working on his code.

When it was one in the morning, Sebastian called it for the day and dived into his bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his Facebook Messenger rang.

 _-Haneul Park: Sebby~_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: hey_

 _What's up?_

 _-Haneul Park: I miss you __

 _-Sebastian Callahan: already?_

 _Better hold on, Jane._

 _-Haneul Park: nuuuuuuu ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: lol_

 _That's the lol of Korea?_

 _-Haneul Park: yeah_

The conversation lasted until they said goodbye and Sebastian fell into deep sleep.

* * *

The raven-haired boy was surprisingly refreshed when he woke up that day. It was now the 1st of Fall, 2019. The air was noticeably cooler than yesterday. Never in his life Sebastian woke up happily. After washing up, he stared at the mirror, adjusting his clothes. Her parents were coming today, so he should look at least organized. He unfortunately had a hard time understanding the concept of looking neat as this was the first time he had done so. With that out of the way, Sebastian grabbed the bouquet of blue flowers and exited the room.

The time was seven in the morning when Robin was still fixing breakfast of the usual bacon and eggs. Robin turned around when she felt her son's presence… happy? This was new. "Sebby? You look… happy." She said.

"I thought you knew, mom." Sebastian replied, sighing contently. "Remember yesterday?" A short pause followed before something clicked in the carpenter's mind.

"Right! You're a grown up now!"

"I was before, mom. How do you consider someone an adult? Your standards are… unpredictable."

"Oh, you're a grown up to me! Sit down! Maru and Demetrius are still sleeping, so we'll be first!" Robin concluded before focusing back on the frying pan of greasy bacon.

Shortly after the short talk between mother and son, Robin placed two plates of hot bacon and eggs on the table. She sat down opposite of Sebastian and started eating.

"So, happy to see Jane?" She started.

"She's now my girlfriend, after all." Sebastian replied.

"Sebby, aww."

"Mom…" the raven-haired boy grunted.

"What? I thought you said you liked her!"

"I do, but it's still embarrassing!"

"You shouldn't! your father was a confident man who was proud to have me as a wife! I really hope that you can be like your father!" Sebastian knew that Robin still had an unrepairable void in her heart due to his father's disappearance down in the mines, but reminded himself to not ask why she married Demetrius if she missed his father so much.

"Right. I've never been in a relationship before, so I guess it's normal to be anxious…"

"Sebby, that's a horrible idea! I told you to be confident! That's what makes the young women fall to men!"

"Whatever. I just want to be different. Nobody understood me except Jane. Maybe that's how I fell in love with her." Sebastian said as he took a bite of an egg. After swallowing, he continued. "Anyway, you know about her family coming here, right?"

"Oh, of course I do! Me and the other mothers are already preparing for their arrival! We can't wait to make a new friend! Are you and your friends waiting for them, too?"

"Well, to be honest, it's just a family reunion. I don't think I should interfere with that." Robin nodded at Sebastian's words. "...although Abigail seems to look out for Jane's brother…"

"That's adorable!" Robin chirped. "Wanna help her?"

"Nah, I'll have fun making fun of her." Sebastian sneered as he put his empty plate in the sink. "Anyway, today's Jane's birthday, but I don't know what to do."

"Hmm? I remember the mayor talking about that. He'll tell us everything." The carpenter replied. Nodding, Sebastian left the Shop.

* * *

Sebastian's knock on the Agria Farm house was almost immediately responded with Jane opening the door and throwing herself or him. "Had a good night?" Jane nodded by his question. The raven-haired boy's surprises didn't end there, as he pulled out the bouquet of blue flowers from his hoodie and held it to his girlfriend.

"Happy birthday, Jane." In an instant, Jane leaned in for a deep kiss, obviously smiling. She pressed on his chest, pressing the bouquet in the process. "Jane, the bouquet…" the raven-haired boy muffled. The farmer simply shrugged as she released her lips from him.

 _You're the best birthday present ever!_ She signed, holding the now-slightly crumpled bundle of blue flowers on her chest, blushing.

"Sorry, but i'm taken." Sebastian joked. "...by you!" Jane nudged his chest, giggling. "Ready to start the day?" She nodded. She let him inside the house, placed the flowers in a vase and grabbed her tools.

Sebastian took care of the dead Summer crops with the scythe. He now has no problem handling the tool thanks to his experience with Jane. With that out of their way, he turned to the farmer.

"Should we put some fences? I mean, it'll look more organized." Jane shrugged to his suggestion. She looked like she had interest on it. Sebastian decided to inform his mother about it.

The couple spent the rest of their work in the coop occupying their hands to each other while Papyrus and Sans ran around. They have grown slightly larger than before and Sans was starting to grow brown hair. Sebastian couldn't help but smile at how cute Jane was when she grinned at the avian balls of feather. Their eyes locked together and their faces turned into a tomato. Jane shyly looked away just before her phone gave a message ring.

"Who is it?" Sebastian asked as she checked the message. He gave a peek to find a lot of Korean.

 _-Minsoo Park: 도착했다_ _(we're here)_

 _-Haneul Park: 짝짝짝짝_ _(clap clap clap)_

 _-공항_ _? (Airport?)_

 _-Minsoo Park: ㅇㅇ_ _(yup)_

 _-네 페북 봤다_ _(I saw your FB)_

 _-ㅊㅎㅊㅎ_ _(congrats!)_

 _-Haneul Park: 언제 와_ _? (When are you coming?)_

 _-엄마 아빠는_ _? (What about mom and dad?)_

 _Minsoo park: 좋아 죽고 계셔_ _(they're so happy)_

 _-너 남친 생겼다고_ _(that you got a bf)_

Sebastian noticed Jane blush, but seeing that this chat may be personal, he decided to not ask and just look at the phone screen.

 _-Haneul Park: 어떻게 올거야_ _? (How are you going to come here?)_

 _-Minsoo Park: 버스 탈거야_ _(Gonna ride the bus)_

 _-찾아봤는데_ _(I've been looking for it…)_

 _-왜 한대밖에 없냐_ _? (...but why is there only one?)_

 _-한국에는 적어도_ _5 개는 되는데_ _(there's at least 5 in Korea per village)_

 _-글고 네 마을 인터넷에도 찾기 힘들어_ _! (And it was so hard to find your town in the internet!)_

 _-Haneul park: 난 한방에 찾았는데_ _? (I found it in one try?)_

 _-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ_

 _-Minsoo park: ㅇㅋ 탔다_ _(ok, I'm in the bus)_

 _-생일 축하해_ _(Happy Birthday!)_

Jane smiled when she locked her phone. At the same time, the raven-haired boy gathered the confidence to speak.

"Who was that?" He asked.

 _My brother_

"Mhm. What did he say?"

 _He's now in the country and taking the bus._

"Oh, wow. It's gonna take them hours to get here, especially when you're at the capital." Sebastian replied. He helped Jane up to her feet, petted Papyrus and Sans one more time before walking out of the coop.

* * *

The couple entered Pierre's General Store and was greeted by the Berneau father and daughter. "Well well, I isn't the farmer and her boyfriend!" Pierre greeted. Sebastian simply shrugged and Jane did her usual bow.

"We're here for new seeds." The raven-haired boy said.

"Well, good thing that i've just stocked the shop with Fall seeds! Look at what you would like, Jane!" Jane nodded as she limped around and looked at the shelves filled with yellow, purple, green and orange colored seed packets. Abigail followed around the farmer while Sebastian was called by her father.

"Yes, sir?" He asked.

"I've heard from my wife and daughter that Jane's family is coming to The Valley today." Pierre started, clearing his throat afterwards. "How do you think they will be like? Will they just keep going to Jojamart? Are they good at English?"

"Uh… i don't know, sir." Sebastian replied. In his mind, however, he questioned why would the shopkeeper ask him questions that has absolutely no relation with him. "I'm sure her brother will be good at our language."

"That's good. Listen, I remember Abigail saying that today's Jane's birthday." Sebastian nodded in response. "She said that everyone should celebrate it."

"Excuse me, Mr. Berneau?"

"I don't know what my daughter was talking about, Sebastian." Pierre added, laughing. "She's so unpredictable, you know. You should talk to her if you want to learn more… as long she's not being so rebellious."

"Uh… yes sir." Sebastian hesitantly nodded when Jane came with a basket full of seeds.

After paying for what they bought, Sebastian and Jane walked out of Pelican Town and towards Agria Farm. However, they weren't the only ones going there; Abigail was following them from behind. Sebastian didn't mind at first, but as he noticed that she was starting to skip, he and his girlfriend started to question her. Why is she so eager to follow them?

"Uh… Abby, why are you following us?" He asked, looking at her.

"I just want to see how you tie date!" Abigail replied, but the couple shook their head, knowing that it wasn't her real reason.

"We're going to work."

"But still! I'm coming along!"

 _I think she's coming to see my brother._ Jane signed, knowing that the purple-haired girl doesn't understand sign language. Sebastian grinned and nodded.

"...or it could be…Minsoo?"

"N-no! It's not!" Abigail refuted, flushing with red.

"Yup, she is coming for him. How long did it take you to come here from Arcadia, Jane?" Sebastian asked his girlfriend. She replied with six fingers. "...and your brother arrived at the airport two hours ago!" Jane nodded.

"It's not about her brother!" Abigail exclaimed. Sebastian couldn't help but to chuckle. Is this how it feels to make fun of someone who was in love? He found it funny. Apparently, seeing how Jane was laughing along, she seemed to feel the same.

* * *

Combined with the fertile soil expansion, seed plantation with watering, four hours seemed to flow away like a river. The couple also planted the Asian Pear teee saplings next to the coop. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Sebastian saw that it was already two in the afternoon and Abigail was observing the couple working and occasionally looking at the eastern exit to see if anyone was coming.

Jane let him and Abigail in to have some refreshments. As the farmer prepared some blueberry popsicles she made with her brother's instructions, Abigail bombarded the raven-haired boy with questions regarding how he will carry on the relationship with Jane.

Just as the gang was finishing off their popsicles, the door gave out three knocks. Could it be Jane's family? Jane and Abigail bolted up from their chairs and checked the windows. The farmer gave a gasp.

"It's them!" Abigail screamed. This was it. Sebastian readied his mind for the encounter as his girlfriend opened the door. Immediately, three unfamiliar Asian people along with Robin and Lewis entered the house. The farmer immediately threw herself to the oldest looking man other than Lewis. The man had glasses, slightly wrinkled skin and pitch black hair. This was Jane's father. Right next to him was a woman presumably in her forties having short black hair. It was his girlfriend's mother. The tallest young man had hair dyed slightly brown and wore a white formal shirt. This was Minsoo, Jane's brother. Sebastian stared at the family reunion without saying any word with Abigail until Jane's mother looked at him. She asked her daughter something in their language and Jane nodded happily. The father suddenly approached the raven-haired boy, making him shake with fear. What would he say? How will he react to his daughter's boyfriend? What…

"You're Haneul's boyfriend, right?" Her father's voice cut Sebastian's train of thought.

"Y-yes, sir!" Sebastian replied, remembering that this man could speak good English, although there was a mix of Korean accent.

"Why are you scared? I'm glad that you are her boyfriend!" The man said, noticing the raven-haired boy's anxiety. "I have never seen my daughter so happy." He added, holding his hand for a shake. Sebastian accepted it, and was immediately approached by Minsoo.

"Hello, Sebastian." The tall man said.

"You're Minsoo, right?" Sebastian asked.

"I thought you knew?"

"Cool."

"That's a strange answer." Minsoo replied, folding his arms. "Anyway, thanks for helping my sister to come this far. I should treat you or something, yeah?" He added, parting the raven-haired boy's back before walking back to his parents. Jane was now limping around the house, possibly introducing the family to it. Meanwhile, Abigail was attempting to talk to Minsoo, but she seemed to have a hard time quelling the awkwardness between the two and for some reason, clenching her chest.

"S-so… you-you like… uh… K-Pop, r-right? I-I mean, you're… Korean and all… d-do you li-like… listen to EXO? Wow, this is hard." Abigail stuttered and blushed furiously. She was dangerously close to Jane's brother. Backing off, Minsoo opened his mouth.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you… so close to me? Besides, just because I'm Korean doesn't mean that I listen to boy bands." He said. "Okay, I'll be honest, I do listen to some of them. For the girls back home, they all listen to BTS."

"BTS? Wow, they're so good!" Abigail happily replied, but immediately returned to her awkward state.

"Okay, I think I'm doing something weird to you. I need to go to Jane. See you soon." The young man finally said before walking away, leaving the purple-haired girl staring at him.

"What was that all about?" Sebastian quietly asked as he approached her.

"He-he's so…"

"Hot?"

"N-no!" Abigail nudged his shoulder, blushing even more furiously.

A few minutes passed before when Jane's family exited from their room given by the farmer without their luggages.

 _We're going to show them the town._ She signed Sebastian.

"Sure. Let's go. Let's hope Haley won't mess things up, yeah?" He replied, holding her hand and walking out of the house. Everybody else followed her out, probably talking about how he and Jane look together.

* * *

Accompanied by Lewis and Robin. Sebastian, Jane and her family and Abigail entered Pelican Town with anticipation visible from the Asian faces. One by one, the townspeople exited from their houses and greeted the farmer's family with optimism and warm welcomes.

"I can see it in your eyes! You'll like this town!" Emily said.

"Are you tired? You're always welcome to our home!" Jodi added.

"Thank you, people. But we've just came and we're looking around the town." Jane's Father replied.

"No worries! Come again if you're free!" Demetrius said.

"Happy birthday, Jane!" Emily shouted as the group walked away.

The town seemed friendly to the newcomers. They were showered with warmth and kindness by nearly everyone they passed by.

Nearly.

Of course, Haley Laveri was the exception. She was cold and stingy.

"Oh, hello." The blonde girl coldly greeted, then turned to Jane with a smug look. "You brought your family because you're so scared, chopstick leg?" Sighing, Jane looked away.

"Haley, what the hell? They're visiting." Sebastian hissed.

"I didn't ask you, emo. I don't care if you're her boyfriend. They look stupid just like h-"

"Excuse me?!" Minsoo stepped forward. Sebastian saw the man and silently gasped. He was _tall_. "Can you say that again?" He asked, looking down at the blonde girl. His shadow engulfed Haley as she looked away. "No, say that to my face." Minsoo's tone became threatening. "Say. That. To. My. Face."

"I-I-..." Haley stuttered. She looked like as she was about to cry. Sebastian had never seen her like this before. Could she be scared?

"What did you say about my family? Oh wait, you're the girl who called my sister Chopstick Leg, huh? What do you have to say about that?" Haley started to sob at Minsoo's word. Sebastian noticed that Jane's brother was tall. He was lean, but he could definitely see that he wasn't weak. He was handsome, even to him. Just as Haley started to cry, Alex walked to her and in front of Minsoo, fists ready to blow.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to my girlf… whoa." Alex stopped and his fists were gone. Sebastian was also shocked.

 _Minsoo dwarfed Alex._

"...and you're her boyfriend?"

"Y-yes." Alex stuttered. He stuttered. This was the first time the raven-haired boy saw this to the local jock. In the bottom of his mind, he found it funny.

"How old are you?" Minsoo asked with a calm but strong tone.

"N-nineteen."

"Twenty-two. What's your name?"

"A-Alex, sir. Alex Müllner." Alex cowered.

"No need for formality, Alex."

"I-I didn't insult your sister, I promise!" The athlete whimpered. That was new.

"I didn't ask for that, but it better not be a lie. If it is, I'll make sure you won't see another day…"

"Minsoo!" A voice called. It was Jane's mother. The young man walked to his mother while keeping an eye on the Alex-Haley couple.

"Wow, he's awesome!" Abigail whispered to Sebastian's ears. Jane was with him, having her shoulder wrapped tightly.

"Good thing Jane now has a shield… for now." Sebastian nodded.

 _I hope he won't go too far._ Jane signed. Sebastian repeated her words to Abigail.

"What do you mean?" She asked, but the farmer simply shook her head. By this time, Minsoo walked back to Alex.

"Alright, Alex. I'll leave you two be for now. BUT mark my words: if any of you insult my sister again…" he paused. "...you'll regret breathing. Other than that, I'm sure we can be good friends." He said, holding his hand out for a shake. "The name is Minsoo Park." Hesitating, Alex accepted the shake and Jane's family walked away. Sebastian, Jane and Abigail followed.

* * *

The tour ended after the group exited the Carpenter's Shop. Sebastian specially gave Jane a ride down back to the farm with his motorcycle while the others walked down. Sam accompanied the group, spooking Minsoo out with his craziness.

Before the Park family entered the farmhouse, Abigail and Sam stopped Minsoo and make him be with the teenager trio.

"What? I need to go unpack!" Jane's brother said.

"I don't know what's going on, to be honest." Sebastian added.

"Listen, guys. We all know that today's Jane's birthday, right?" Abigail asked.

"Well, duh. I gave her a bouquet for that."

"Aww."

"I don't mind."

"Okay, that was adorable, Sebastian." Minsoo said. "And yes, we prepared her gift, but why?"

"We're going to throw her a party at the saloon. Everybody's pitching in with gifts." Sam said.

"Is this supposed to be a surprise party?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah. I bought her chocolate cake. I'm going to let her drink…"

"Whoa, DRINK?!" Minsoo cut Abigail off.

"Y-yeah. You know, sh-she's nineteen and all, hehe…" Abigail blushed.

"I don't know about that, guys. She almost threw herself out of the window after one glass of soju…"

"Oh, come on! It's just beer! That won't hurt, right?" Sam pleaded.

"Why do you want her to be drunk?" Sebastian asked.

"Why not? It'll be funny!"

"Seb, what's his name?" Minsoo pointed at the blonde boy.

"Sam." The raven-haired boy replied. Suddenly, Minsoo grabbed Sam's shirt and violently dragged him to him.

"Listen here, Sam. If you think getting someone drunk is funny, here's the thing." Minsoo snarled, tone definitely angry. "Wanna know how she lost her arm? She was raped by her drunk schoolmates when she was thirteen." By his words, the teenager trio's happy mood instantly vanished. Sebastian's heart especially sank. He never knew Jane suffered THAT much. He regretted hearing that. "That's why I was preventing my sister from drinking. She was forced at that time."

"Th-th… I'm sorry." Sam stuttered.

"Good. I'll let her drink today as it's her birthday. But don't push her, understood?"

"O-okay." Abigail and Sam replied. Minsoo nodded and released Sam's shirt.

"So, what should we do?" Sebastian asked.

"We want you to bring Jane to the saloon when everything's ready. Minsoo, tell this to your parents but keep it from Jane, okay?" Abigail instructed. Everybody nodded. Minsoo went back into the house while the teenager trio stayed at the porch. "Wow, that was scary." Sam said, readjusting his shirt.

"...and awesome…" Abigail slapped her face, realizing what she had said.

"She's really into him." Sebastian whispered to Sam.

* * *

Until the sun set, Sebastian took Jane around Pelican town, mostly walking in blissful silence and talking in sign language when they sat down. They cuddled and sometimes kissed. It was probably the perfect first date for both of them. Sebastian loved silence while Jane loved the outside date and watching the sunset.

Sebastian's phone gave a message ring, making the mesmerizing session over.

 _-Abigail Berneau: we're ready_

 _-bring her in_

Indeed, he was ready. "Jane, wanna go get dinner in the saloon?"

 _What about my family?_ Jane asked.

"I… uh… didn't they say that they'll just eat at the saloon, too?" Jane gave a hum of thought and nodded. "Alright, let's go. Wanna eat pizza?" She shrugged as she limped besides Sebastian towards the Saloon. 'Okay, here goes nothing.' Sebastian thought when he and Jane reached the saloon door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

 **"SURPRISE!"**

The almost immediate reaction startled Sebastian. Jane, in the other hand, nearly jumped and fell to the ground if it weren't for her boyfriend. The saloon was crowded with the inhabitants of Pelican Town except Alex and Haley. Even Jane's family was there wearing party hats. Minsoo was standing right next to Gus as if he was talking to him before the couple came in. Abigail and Sam ran up to Jane and grabbed Jane's shoulder.

"Come in, Jane! Time to celebrate your nineteenth birthday!" Sam beamed as the two escorted the farmer to the counter, where a big chocolate cake stood ready with candles burning with plea to be extinguished. When Jane approached the cake, everyone including Sebastian started to sing along to Sam's guitar. When the music of the Birthdays came to a close, Jane collapsed in tears as she threw herself to her boyfriend. In return, the raven-haired boy held her shoulder tightly as she sobbed on his hoodie.

"Jane, it's okay. You're supposed to be happy!" Sebastian said. Jane nodded, looked up, and suddenly jumped up for a deep kiss. Everybody in the saloon cooed at the sight…

Of course, except for Vincent and Jas, who stuck their tongues out and their eyes covered by their guardians' hands.

 _Thank you_ her eyes said, and Sebastian could clearly see that.

"You should thank my friends." Sebastian replied. Jane turned to Abigail and Sam and gave a warming smile.

"You ready to start the night?" Abigail asked. Jane nodded in response.

* * *

The party went smoothly as the townspeople found their own ways of leisure. The housewives gathered around Jane's mother while bombarding her with questions and having a hearty conversation. Demetrius and Pierre hung around with the farmer's father while laughing along by his jokes. Minsoo first had a conversation with Gus regarding culinary experience and food ingredients and eventually entered the leisure room where Sebastian and Sam were playing pool while Jane was annihilating Abigail in the Xbox. When the Minsoo entered the room, Sebastian pocketed the eight-ball, winning the game.

"Sam, have you heard of practicing?" Sebastian gloated.

"Do you always win him, or is he just that bad?" Minsoo asked.

"He just sucks." The two boys laughed as Sam grunted.

"You know what? I think I can win YOU, Minsoo!" Sam exclaimed, holding out his cue stick.

"Are you sure?" Minsoo folded his arms, giving a grin. His eyes were on fire, making the blonde boy shiver for a second, but refocus and nod. "Alright, then." He accepted the challenge. Sebastian organized the balls on the table and observed Sam's flawed ball scatter.

"So, Sebastian, what do you think of Jane?" Minsoo asked.

"Jane? She can't be explained, to be honest." Sebastian replied with honesty.

"Hmm, interesting answer." Minsoo said as he shot his ball. Nobody pocketed a ball so far. Was he planning something? Who knows. "You guys are definitely different from the guys at Korea. I'm not complaining about it, though. As a guy who spent one fourth of his academic life in a culinary school in France, I understand that people can be different." Sebastian nodded as he watched him pocket two striped balls with one hit. A skilled move! The school explained how Minsoo's English sounded slightly French. "If you get to her soft side, I presume that you did, Haneul is the most soft-hearted girl in the world."

"Yeah, she is." The raven-haired boy replied, glancing at his girlfriend, who waved at him lovingly. He returned with a smile and focused back to her brother. At the same time, Sam accidentally pocketed the cue ball.

"Rookie mistake, I see." Minsoo smirked as he freely adjusted the cue ball. He took a shot, and another striped ball went in. "I hope you'll take good care of her, Sebastian. She basically poured out her heart to you."

"So did I. I mean, she's the only reason why I'm still in Stardew Valley."

"Cute. I think I'm going to have a good time here… as long as those two idiots don't intervene. I really don't want to show my sister my dark side again, you know."

Ten minutes later, the pool match was over. By the time Minsoo pocketed all his balls including the 8-ball, Sam still had four more balls.

"I… I just can't." Sam grunted. "The Internet was right. There is always an Asian that is better than you in everything."

"Damn right." Minsoo laughed just as Sebastian saw Abigail entered with a tray of five beer mugs.

Wait, FIVE?!

Sebastian finally remembered that Abigail swore to make Jane drink at her birthday. Minsoo did that he wouldn't mind, but the problem was that the mugs were HUGE.

"Abigail, don't you think they're a bit too big?" Minsoo asked, looking concerned. Sebastian wanted to agree, seeing Jane's worried face. Not even he drinks this much.

"H-huh? Really? D-do you think it's t-too much?" Abigail stuttered while blushing. Sam seemed to find it funny and chuckled.

"I think I'm doing something wrong here. Whenever this girls sees me, that happens!" Minsoo complained to her friends. Jane giggled for a while. Sebastian took his time to see which mug contained the least and handed it to his girlfriend.

"Don't push yourself, okay? Sam won't pressure you. I promise." Sebastian earned, looking at Minsoo. He gave a peck on Jane's lips before taking a seat beside her.

"Uh… Jesus, I don't know how to say this…" Minsoo hesitated, looking at his father. He looked back, giving him a thumbs-up. "Ugh, fine. Here's a toast to Haneul's nineteenth birthday… and her and Sebastian's first date." He finally said, clinking his mug with everybody else's before drinking the alcoholic beverage. As Sebastian drank his beer, he saw Jane frown by the taste of her beverage. He could see her drinking very slowly, judging by the bubbles formed by her mouth in the liquid.

"You don't have to drink all, Jane." Sebastian assured. Nodding, Jane took another small sip.

"Aw, come on, Jane! Drink it up! You'll…" Sam stopped when he saw Minsoo's fiery glare and clenched fists.

An eternity seemed to have lasted when the gang simultaneously place their mugs on the table. Sam, Abigail and Minsoo's mugs were empty while Sebastian's mug was a quarter full. Jane in the other hand ha she'd mug half empty. Despite so, her face was redder than any of her friends and her brother. She was acting like she was dizzy while giving hiccups, telling Sebastian that she was weak on alcohol. Just as the farmer grabbed the mug, he stopped her.

"No, Jane. I told you that you don't have to finish it."

"Come on, Seb! Let her finish!" Sam pestered, his words slurred. The raven-haired boy heated Minsoo sigh before grabbing the blonde boy's shoulder tightly, making him yelp in pain.

"You forgot what I said hours ago?" Minsoo growled.

"S-sorry" Sam apologized. "Geez, what a waste."

"Are you okay, Jane?" Sebastian asked, but Jane collapsed onto the floor, slurring out inaudible noises.

"I told you guys that she's weak to alcohol." Minsoo said.

"I told her to not push herself." Sebastian sighed. Just then, Jane's parents entered the leisure room.

"민수야, 얘 왜이래? (Minsoo, what's wrong with her?)" mother asked worriedly.

"술 마셨어요 (she drank.)" Minsoo replied.

"It's really late…" his father said, looking at his watch. "She'll have to open her presents tomorrow. Sebastian, help us take her to the farm."

"Yes, Mr. Park." Sebastian complied as he hoisted his wasted girlfriend on his back. "See you guys tomorrow." He said to Sam and Abigail before walking out of the saloon.

* * *

It was midnight when the Park family and Sebastian arrived at Agria Farm. Jane's father thanked the raven-haired boy before entering the house.

"Hey, thanks for keeping my sister safe. I think I can count on you from now on." Minsoo said, placing his hand on Sebastian's shoulder.

"Huh? Yeah. I tried to keep her like that. Should I go inside?"

"Sure." Minsoo said as he entered the house. Just before Sebastian followed him in, Jane tapped him on his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Jane suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, swung from his back to his face and planted a deep kiss on his lips. Sebastian kissed back, but the force that his girlfriend gave was unlike her. Not that he complained, though. When they released their lips, Jane's cheeks gave a shade of pink as she pouted drunkenly. Sighing, Sebastian entered the house.


	28. CHAPTER 27: Culinary (Jane)

With the beeping of the alarm clock, Jane groggily smashed the clock and slowly woke up. It was the second of Fall. The air was slowly getting colder. The farmer could know this by the freezing floor that she stepped on. Oh, how she wanted fluffy slippers.

She rubbed her eyes to find that she was still in her yesterday clothes. 'How much did I drink?' Jane thought as she put her prosthetic leg back in her missing leg and rose from the bed.

"You've slept like a log!" Iseul said.

'My friends told me to drink! What am I supposed to do?' Jane refuted.

"You could have asked help from your brother!"

'I still had to! I haven't drank in years and yesterday was my birthday!' Jane gave a sigh. 'How did I come back to my room?'

"Sebastian picked you up. He couldn't answer my questions because your family was nearby." The farmer nodded by the Junimo's words.

'Don't you think it'll be strange to find us talking to thin air? I mean, that's what the others would think!'

"It's okay. You only speak with your mind and I'll reply. It's simple." Iseul replied. "Now, I think your mother would be calling you for breakfast. You should go. I'll stay here. Remember to bring me fruit!" Nodding, Jane gave a kiss on he Junimo's forehead before walking to the bathroom.

* * *

She brushed her teeth, washed her face and raked her hair. It was seven o'clock in the morning. For being extremely drunk according to her memories, Jane had woken up relatively early. Her head throbbed by the alcohol she drank last night. She opened her room door to find her parents sitting in the table. Minsoo was preparing something on the counters. Accompanying her parents was…

...Sebastian?!

Jane tried to go back to her room, but it was too late. Her father noticed the creeking of her room door and notified the rest of the people.

"Haneul! Good morning!" He said in his mother tongue.

"Oh, hey Haneul." Minsoo said, cutting something with a knife. Was he… cooking breakfast? Jane didn't tell him what was in her refrigerator! Not that she complained as her brother is a restaurant chef with six years of training. Sebastian immediately rose from his chair and embraced her.

"Good morning, Jane." Sebastian mumbled groggily. Jane smiled and buried her face on his chest. The question was: why is he here so early?

"Haneul, breakfast is ready!" Jane's mother chirped.

"She said breakfast!" Minsoo translated, lowering plates and bowls of food on the table. Sebastian aided Jane onto the table.

* * *

"So, how did you two get together?" Father asked the couple.

"Well, uh…" Sebastian hesitated. Jane giggled as she took a spoonful of rice and took it into her mouth. She missed Korean food that wasn't instant. She saw the faces of her parents eager for her boyfriend's answer. Sebastian hesitated as he fumbled with his spoon.

"You don't have to answer, you know." Minsoo added.

"Nah, it's okay. I can answer." The raven-haired boy replied. Jane placed her spoon down and leaned closer to him. "Hmm… it was two days ago. Jane told me to meet her at a tree in the forest south of here. We talked and… she confessed to me first through sign language. I'll be honest, I didn't know that this meant 'I love you'." Sebastian made a rock-and-roll symbol. "Anyway, I looked it up and was surprised that she felt the same. So I made my confession and she gave me the bouquet… and bam, relationship."

"Wow, that's really lucky for you two." Minsoo complimented. Jane giggled and gave her boyfriend a peck on his cheek. "I mean, all the girls that I dated before have… high expectations. Seb, you're basically unwanted in Korea."

"I guessed so." Sebastian replied, taking a bite of his food.

 _How was your first night?_ Jane asked her parents.

"It's much quieter than Seoul!" Her mother replied in her mother tongue.

"The people here are really kind, surprisingly!" Father added. "That girl was very unmannered, though."

"She won't be rude to us for now." Minsoo replied. "Haneul, I have one complaint." With that, Jane's smile partially disappeared. A complaint? This wasn't good. "Why did you name your chickens Undertale characters?" Never mind. Her tension was gone and the farmer giggled.

"What did they say?" Sebastian whispered. Jane used her phone to translate everything that her family had said. The raven-haired boy nodded after seeing the last line of text.

 _I have one question._ Jane asked.

"Shoot."

 _How are you here so early?_

"Oh, uh…" Sebastian hesitated as he turned to Minsoo. "Is it okay?"

"We don't mind." Minsoo replied calmly.

"alright, it's going to be a long story." Jane's boyfriend said before clearing his throat.

* * *

 _Sebastian entered the house with Jane on his back. He was still dizzy by the effects of the beer that he drank with his friends._

" _You're pretty weak on alcohol, huh?" Minsoo asked, seeing that the raven-haired boy clenched his forehead._

" _I know. I sometimes don't understand Sam and Abby." Sebastian replied. "Don't mind if I put her in her bed?"_

" _Haneul? Go ahead." With that, Sebastian walked to Jane's room with the weight of his girlfriend on his back. When he reached her bed, he gently placed the wasted farmer down on the soft blankets. He saw Iseul bouncing to its master to check on her._

" _What happened to her?" The Junimo asked._

" _She drank too much." Sebastian replied. "I mean, half a mug."_

" _I hope she's not hurt."_

" _I tried my best to let it not happen."_

" _Thank you, Sebastian. You two should return to the Community Center. My friends may wish to see you again."_

" _What for?" Just as Sebastian was about to receive his answer, Minsoo called from the living room._

" _Is everything okay there?"_

" _I'm fine!" Sebastian shouted back. "Listen, I think Jane's brother's starting to spook out by how i'm talking to thin air… according to him." He said to Iseul._

" _I'll look after her from here. Thank you." Iseul replied before jumping over Jane's body and laying beside her chest._

" _Good night, you two." Sebastian said before giving a kiss on both Jane and her Junimo's forehead. Just before he was about to walk away, something grabbed his arm. It was Jane. "Uh, Minsoo?" The raven-haired boy called out. "Jane's not letting go!"_

" _Lucky bastard!" Minsoo jokingly called out. Sebastian grunted. He didn't think sleeping with her would be a good idea for both him and Jane's parents._

" _I need to go home!" Sebastian shouted back._

" _You're drunk! Are you sure you want to drive?" Minsoo was right. He was still dizzy thanks to the beer. Even if he stayed, where will he sleep? "You can use my room!" A good offer, but it was Jane's brother's first day here. No way he will let him let it last uncomfortably._

" _Nah, I'll sleep on the couch. I do that sometimes." The raven-haired boy replied, trying to pry off his girlfriend's hand. She whined in protest, but he silenced her with a kiss on her lips. He could then finally walk out of Jane's room._

 _When Sebastian walked to the living room, Minsoo was already preparing a blanket and a pillow. How was the tall guy going to sleep without them? As if he read his mind, Minsoo grinned as he opened his mouth._

" _Haneul gave my bed two pillows and three blankets. Nothing to worry about." He said._

" _Praise the sun. I was worried that you're gonna sleep without a pillow." Sebastian replied._

" _I don't mind, anyway. You get used to sleeping on the hard floor when you spent 2 years in mandatory military service."_

" _Why mandatory?"_

" _Fault North Korea, not me!" Minsoo said. The raven-haired boy chuckled._

" _Sorry, Minsoo. Look, I need to work with your sister tomorrow morning."_

" _...and I need to cook breakfast."_

" _Breakfast?"_

" _You don't know? I work in a restaurant! Not a master chef, though."_

" _Cool. Good night." Sebastian said before climbing into the couch._

" _Just don't stay passed out when my parents get out." Minsoo said and shut his room door behind him._

* * *

"...That's how I ended up here." Sebastian concluded and piled his empty bowl and plate together. "Really delicious." He complimented.

 _My brother's the best cook!_ Jane replied.

"Damn right I am." Minsoo joked. "You two ready to work?" The couple nodded before standing up.

"They're so cute together, don't you think, Wonjae?" Jane heard her mother whisper to her father as Sebastian handed her the watering can.

* * *

Just like yesterday, work in the farm was smooth and warm. Jane was slightly distracted at looking at her boyfriend. She loved him so much despite being together for only three days. Sebastian seemed to be in the same train as he accidentally stepped on some juvenile corn plants while their eyes locked. They could refocus thanks to Minsoo's interference when he noticed the couple spacing out.

When they were done with watering the crops, Jane lead her brother into the coop where Sans and Papyrus the chickens were awaiting their master. Iseul was there playing with the now almost adult chicks, but Jane and Sebastian tried their best to act like it didn't exist to not spook Minsoo out. Jane taught him how to feed the chickens by throwing seeds at the ground as if she was sowing crops. Minsoo seemed to follow it nicely but the chickens only followed the farmer and her boyfriend around, giving the brother a hard time.

* * *

With all of her chores done, Jane's family lead her back into her house where she saw a pile of wrapped presents next to the TV. There were twelve in total. Jane couldn't help but to revert back to when she was a child; so happy to see a mound of presents! Her parents were smiling too and Sebastian was looking at her lovingly. Although his bouquet was on the table and was not given in the Saloon, the farmer limped to the raven-haired boy and gave a light kiss.

"Jane, your parents!" Sebastian whispered, eyeing her parents concerned. Jane simply shrugged as she leaned in for another kiss. She released herself from him to find her brother looking away in disgust. She limped back to the present mountain while Sebastian called Minsoo for a quiet talk. Little did they know that while Jane was busy ripping wrapping paper off of boxes and items, she was overhearing Sebastian and Minsoo talking from the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jane's parents left the house for seeing the townspeople.

"Minsoo, you're a chef, right?" Sebastian whispered.

"Technically, no. I'm an assistant and still student of a chef." Minsoo relied. "Why?"

"I need your help."

"Uh-huh?"

"I wanna help you cook lunch."

"Help?" Minsoo chuckled. "What can you cook?"

"Well, mom's Spaghetti, sandwich, hash browns, fried eggs… that's it."

"Wow, that's not a good sign. Especially the spaghetti."

"How so?"

"I'll have to be Gordon Ramsey to explain." Minsoo joked. "I don't want to insult your mother, though."

"Nah, it's okay. I won't tell mom." Sebastian assured.

"It's too sweet. It kinda tasted like ketchup in some ways and the way she combines the noodles with the sauce was… strange."

"That's how most Americans do it… I think."

"...but this is Europe!"

"Mom's from America, so yeah." Sebastian sighed.

"As a chef's assistant of a French restaurant, I find it outrageous."

"Spaghetti is Italian."

"Still. I had a roommate who was Italian, so yeah." Minsoo said, then looked around. "That's what we'll do today. Spaghetti… from the ground up!"

"Sounds easy." Sebastian said. Meanwhile, Jane couldn't help but smile at the presents he was opening and the conversation between her boyfriend and brother. The presents were good and all, but boyfriend learning to cook from her? Marvelous.

Just as Jane opened the last present, Minsoo called in Korean.

"Haneul, do. you have basil anywhere?" The farmer shook her head in response. "Well, so much for decoration." Minsoo grunted in English, rummaging through the refrigerator."at least you have a lot of tomatoes and onions. Oh, garlic? Perfect! Wait… is that… CAJUN SEASONING?! They sell this stuff here?!" He exclaimed, looking at Jane. She simply nodded as she limped towards him.

"Why are you so excited about it?" Sebastian asked.

"It's really hard to find it here and… yeah." Minsoo said. "Sadly, my sister seems to be too lazy to buy spaghetti." Jane whined and nudged his shoulder.

"So… we're scrapping it?"

"Nah, Seb. If there's no spaghetti, MAKE IT!" By Minsoo's words, Sebastian looked at him, eyes wide open.

"How?" Grinning, Minsoo placed a bag of flour and eggs on the counter.

"Like this." With that, Minsoo placed a few cups of flour and cracked some eggs on it. When he was kneading the dough, he turned to the raven-haired boy and his sister. "Aren't you going to do it? I thought you wanted to learn?"

"Right." Sebastian said before doing what Jane's brother just did. Jane shrugged and decided to do the same.

After some kneading, Minsoo flattened his dough and cut it into thin stripes. "That's it! Easy spaghetti!" He said, handing the rolling pin to Sebastian. Jane refused it when her boyfriend handed it to her. She simply waited for the raven- haired boy to flatten his dough. While she observed with a smile, Minsoo complained over and over about Sebastian's progress.

"No, the dough isn't flat enough yet! Keep on… okay… okay, that's enoug- there's a rip on the dough!"

"Does that matter?" Sebastian asked. He was slightly frustrated, but his eyes showed determination.

"You have to don't again. Knead it into a ball and retry." Minsoo instructed.

With Sebastian finally done with his noodles, Minsoo heated the water until it boiled and placed a saucepan with olive oil slathered in it. Jane was still working with her dough when the door knocked. Her parents were outside, probably with the adults in Pelican Town. She didn't bother wiping her hands when she limped to the door and opened it.

"Hi Jane!" Abigail chirped as she entered the house. Strange. Sam wasn't with her. "Sam's in Jojamart working." She said as if she read the farmer's mind. "Why is your hand dirty?" Jane looked at the kitchen where the two boys were cooking.

"Who is it?" Minsoo asked as he turned to look at Abigail. Immediately, the purple-haired girl's face turned scarlet. "Abigail? Hello." He simply said, turning back to what he was cooking.

"What were you doing?" The purple-haired girl asked. Jane reached for her pocket…

Uh-oh, her phone wasn't there!

She pointed a finger up in the air and limped to where her presents were. She wiped her hands on her shirt, covering it with spaghetti dough and picked up her phone. She limped back to Abigail and started typing.

 _Cooking spaghetti_

"Oh, that's adorable!" Abigail cooed when she faced the kitchen again. "Wait, why is Seb with your brother?"

 _He's learning from my brother_

"AWW!"

"Shut up, Abby." Sebastian scoffed. "I'm trying to write this down!"

"But it's so cute!" Abigail said. Jane's face gave a shade of pink as she let her friend in. She immediately sat on the couch while the farmer limped back to the counter.

"You should be with your friend." Minsoo said. "It's okay. We'll take care of things." He said as Jane was about to refuse. Nodding, she limped to where Abigail was and sat right next to her after removing her prosthetic leg.

"You got so many presents!" Abigail commented.

 _This is the first time I've received this much._ Jane typed.

"But still! I only get like, 5 at best!" Jane simply shrugged in response. "It's not fair!" The farmer simply stuck her tongue out. "Aw, you're cute when you do that! Hey, can we play Rocket League?" With Abigail's question, Jane immediately turned her Xbox on and started a split-screen match while Minsoo taught her boyfriend how to cook real Italian spaghetti.

* * *

Fifteen minutes have passed and Minsoo called the girls to the table. Jane and Abigail were greeted with steaming plates of fully homemade spaghetti. The sauce was made of the produce of Agria Farm and was mixed with the pasta during the cooking process unlike what she sees in the American side of the internet.

"This spaghetti is different from what Seb's mom makes." Abigail commented.

"Of course, it's a different variant. I hope you're into culinary history." Minsoo replied. Jane shrugged, Sebastian looked away and eyed his girlfriend while Abigail's eyes locked with Minsoo's, determined to listen to everything he was about to say. "Spaghetti and meatballs was made by Italian immigrants of America during the… uh… I think it was the twenties. The one you were eating was what I learnt from my Italian roommate."

"Roommate? What do you mean? You learnt this from a military comrade?" Sebastian asked.

"Didn't my sister tell you? I graduated from a French culinary school!" Abigail and Sebastian simply eyed Jane for a second and shook their heads.

 _I'm sorry._ Jane signed.

"Hey, it's fine, Haneul. Okay, so I enrolled in that boarding school when I was like fourteen. I was set in a dormitory with four other guys from different countries. The first was Guillermo, which was the Italian guy that I was talking about. The second was a Japanese guy called Yuto, pretty short guy. Then there was Santiago, who came all the way from Argentina. The last guy was Pierre…"

"My dad?!" Abigail cut him.

"You dad's name is Pierre? That's funny. Anyway, Pierre was a French. He was my best friend. End of story." Minsoo concluded. By now, the four people were digging into the spaghetti. Jane was smiling the whole time with sauce covering her lips. She missed her brother's cooking, and here she was, eating it.

"This is way better than mom's spaghetti." Sebastian complimented. "Don't tell her."

"Oh, you're so screwed!" Abigail sneered.

"Abby, NO." Jane giggled at the banter.

"Hey, no fighting here! Especially when it's my sister's house!" Minsoo intervened, taking a fork wrapped with spaghetti into his mouth. "Hmm, it would have been much better if Haneul had basil or at least oregano." Jane nodded in response. Indeed, despite being extremely delicious, she felt that something was missing in the spaghetti. Perhaps her brother, a cooking expert, was right.

 _I'll buy it next time._ Jane signed.

"Nah, it's okay. But sure, I'll appreciate that." MInsoo replied with a smile.

The plates were empty while the conversation between Jane, Sebastian, Minsoo and Abigail was continuing. Jane placed the plates in the sink and cleaned it while her boyfriend helped her.

"I don't normally do dishes." Sebastian whispered. Jane shrugged as she overheard Abigail talking with Minsoo.

"S-so, abo-about the K-pop thing…" Abigail stuttered.

"I don't understand. Why do you want to keep talking about K-Pop? It's not that you're going to dance to a TWICE song or anything." Minsoo replied.

"S-sorry…"

"Are you _that_ into K-Pop?" Abigail nodded. "I'm afraid of what I'll find in your room, woman."

"Y-you sound like French, to be h-honest."

"That's pretty obvious. I've been in France for six years! Of course I do sound like I have a stuffed nose!"

"C-can you speak French?"

"Bien sûr, je peux! Pouvez-vous parler français? (Of course I can! Can you speak French?)" When Minsoo asked in French, Sebastian's head snapped to him in amazement.

"Je peux, mais seulement un peu. (I can, but only a little bit.)" Abigail replied. While Minsoo simply nodded, Jane and her boyfriend's eyes turned to the purple-haired girl in astonishment. She didn't know that Abigail could speak French. Judging by Sebastian's face, she thought that he was in the same situation.

"Wow, a handsome Korean who can cook? Wow, just wow." Jane saw Abigail whisper to herself. Then, the she turned to the farmer and asked. "Wanna come over?" Jane smiled and nodded.

"Alright, Jane. I need to go back home. Mom's gonna be angry." Sebastian replied.

"Use my friend's recipe as a bribe!" Minsoo replied. "In fact, I need to go, too. I want to talk with Mr. Guicollini." He was referring to Gus. With that, all four youngsters departed from Agria Farm.


	29. CHAPTER 28: Coq Au Vin (Sebastian)

Sebastian rode his motorcycle up the mountain. He parked his bike in the Carpenter's Shop and opened the door.

"Sebby, we need to talk." Robin stood next to his son, arms crossed. The raven-haired boy grunted. He expected this to happen, anyway. He stepped into the house and shut the door behind him.

"What's up, mom?" Sebastian asked.

"What do you mean, 'what's up?' Do you even know how worried we were when you didn't come back last night?!"

Last night? Oh, the night of Jane's birthday. This would be easy to explain.

"Mom, I was drunk. There was no way I could drive a bike without crashing and…"

"You should have at least contacted me!" Robin interrupted. Just as Sebastian sighed, Demetrius walked into the commotion from the dining room.

"Sebastian, you worry your mother too much. That isn't the worst part." The dark-skinned man said.

"Why do you care?" Sebastian grunted.

"Care?! YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE!" Demetrius bellowed, startling both his wife and step-son. "You should be following MY rules! It is not what a gentleman should do when he sleeps in a woman's house, especially without her parents' permission!"

"I DID RECEIVE A GOD-DAMN PERMISSION!" Sebastian shouted back. "You're so busy searching for ALL the bad things in my life and NEVER look into what I did for this family!"

"Sebby!" Robin intervened. "Don't shout to your step-father! Demetrius, this was between just two of us! You should go back to our guests and Maru."

'Guests? Who the hell is here?' Sebastian thought.

"But Robin…"

"Enough, Dem. Don't leave our guests hanging!" Robin interrupted her husband with a threatening glare. Sighing, Demetrius walked back into the kitchen. The carpenter then faced her son. "Sebby, you really should have told us before you stayed at Jane's house. We would have mistaken you doing horrible stuff to your girlfriend!"

"Mrs. Callahan, we did try to contact you." A masculine voice said from behind. Robin and Sebastian turned around to find Jane's father looking at them. "I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but me, my son and my wife tried to call you, but you didn't respond."

"Mom, Mr. Park is right." Sebastian added. "You tried to call you ten times but you still didn't answer our calls"

"What do you mean?" Robin asked as she pulled out her phone from her pants pocket. She gave a gasp. Indeed, there were ten missed calls from an unknown phone number. "This was your number, Mr. Park?" Jane's father looked at the screen and nodded. "Oh, Yoba! I'm so sorry! I thought it was a scammer trying to take my credit card number!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Callahan. You can save it now." The man said. "Anyway, sorry for interfering. I'll go back into the dining table." He said before walking back.

* * *

With the tension finally relieved, Sebastian and his mother sat on their seats. Jane's parents were here, asking questions to the raven-haired boy's half sister. Sebastian didn't care about what they were talking about and instead talked with Jane through Facebook.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: where are u?_

 _-Haneul Park: Abby's house_

 _-why?_

 _-miss me? :3_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Yeah_

 _-your parents are here?_

 _-Haneul Park: awww_

 _-my parents?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: coincidentally, yes._

 _\- and they're having a magical thing called conversation._

 _-Haneul Park: lol_

 _-they're not boring._

 _-be careful of my dad's jokes_

 _Sebastian Callahan: sure_

 _-love you_

 _Haneul Park sent a photo._

Sebastian was given a picture of his girlfriend with a pouting smile while her left hand's thumb and index finger made a shape of a heart. The raven-haired boy smiled stupidly while his face turned pink.

"Is everything okay?" A woman's voice with a foreign accent asked him. It was Jane's mother. Putting his phone away, he looked at her.

"Yes, ma'am." Sebastian replied, forgetting to hide his blush.

"You're blushing, Sebastian. Was it Haneul?" Jane's father asked with a smile.

"Yes, sir."

"That's so adorable!" Mother cooed. "It was like how me and my husband was like when we were at a diner! Too bad he doesn't do these stuff anymore." Everyone laughed at her words. For some reason, Sebastian found a reason to laugh at his own table.

* * *

One hour later, Jane's parents were gone. Demetrius had gone outside to research on the local lake. Sebastian was now alone with Robin, drinking coffee that was left.

"So, Sebby, I'm sorry that I doubted you." Robin apologized.

"Mom, It's okay. I also tried to contact you, but my phone battery ran out. I barely managed to charge it before I came back." Sebastian replied. "Also, Minsoo really wanted me to stay after the drinking incident."

"Drinking? Oh dear, was that why Jane was sleeping in the Saloon?"

"Well, yeah. I was kinda dizzy too so her brother told me to stay."

"That's kind of him! What was his name?"

"Minsoo."

"Oh, that's right! He works in a restaurant, right?"

"Yup. Taught me to how to cook spaghetti."

"Ooh, really?" Robin's eyes shone like spotlights. Sebastian nodded in reply. "Can you cook for me?"

"Wait, seriously, mom? Didn't you eat lunch just now?"

"Come on, Sebby. Jane's parents told me that Minsoo was teaching you something. I want to see you do it in front of me!"

"Ugh, I'm not a kindergarten kid from show and tell." The raven-haired boy grunted. "Fine" he finally said after a few seconds of thinking. Robin's smile became wider in hearing that.

Soon enough, Sebastian was kneading dough on the kitchen counter. His mother was observing him from a chair behind him, her eyes staring at her son like a surveillance camera.

'Why the hell am I doing this?' The raven-haired boy thought as he flattened the dough. 'I should not have mentioned spaghetti.' He added. He also realized that even if he didn't, Robin would still ask what he learned anyway…

the dough ripped. Sebastian had to do it again, so he rolled the dough back into a ball and flattened it again. Seeing that it was perfect this time, he cut the dough into thin strips and threw the noodles in the boiling water. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, Sebastian took out the softened tomatoes and began to peel it. It was hot. So hot that his hands gave the color of the plant he was handling. Disgusting. The smell the tomatoes gave and the slimy feeling of the peels made Sebastian want to puke, but he gritted his teeth and ground the tomatoes.

"Sebby, do. you need ketchup?" Robin asked as she saw her son making the sauce and adding the basil and oregano. The raven-haired boy shook his head and continued. "Meatballs?"

"Nope." Sebastian replied.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm just reading out what Minsoo taught me, mom" he said, readying a frying pan. He put some sauce in it and set the fire to low. Then, he put the spaghetti in the pan and started mixing it. He put the fire to high and added some water to make the spaghetti less dry.

Soon enough, Sebastian plated his finished product and gave it to Robin with a fork. "Oh, Sebby! This looks so delicious!" She cooed, drooling at the sight of the food.

"Just… eat it." Sebastian said. Robin nodded happily and took a forkful of noodles into her mouth. The carpenter gave a hum of delight as she chewed.

"This… this is delicious! It's way better than mine!"

"Yeah? I agree. It is delicious."

"Oh Sebby, I'm so glad that you cooked for me! It reminds me of that restaurant in Sacramento that I used to go as a child!"

"I see." Sebastian nodded. "Look, mom. I need to work in my coding. May I go down? Here's how to make it." He said, placing his small notebook down on the table before walking back into his room.

* * *

Sebastian was relaxed to be sitting in his usual chair, typing away lines of coding. Beside him were notes of plans he wrote for a strategy game. He planned to make those a reality once he was free. His eyes constantly moved to the phone as if he was waiting for a message, but he forced them back to the monitor. He had to work quickly to fulfil his delayed quota.

Two hours later, he submitted three quarters of his work to his client and received his money. Just before he continued his work, his Facebook rang. Curious, Sebastian opened his web browser to find Jane requesting a video chat.

'Well, what can go wrong?' He thought as he answered the call. The screen greeted him with Jane giggling uncontrollably. The environment was shaking violently and something purple was trying to tackle his girlfriend.

"Jane, what's wrong?" Sebastian asked. With that, Jane attempted to stabilize the camera and to find out that she was in Abigail's room. Abigail was running after her, looking like trying to snatch the phone.

"Jane, NO! Don't show it to him!" Abigail wailed. Jane looked at her and simply stuck you tongue out. She limped to what looked like the bed and leaned to the edge. Suddenly, Abigail tackled the farmer to the bed, making both of them giggle.

'What the hell is going on?' Sebastian thought by the commotion. He saw Jane pull out a large pillow with something drawn on it. Could it…

No way.

It was a husbando hug pillow. What was drawn on was definitely a K-Pop idol. Sebastian burst into laughter. After all, he had never laughed this hard. Jane laughed along and showed Abigail burying her face in her bed sheets in embarrassment.

"Abby, you don't have to hide your unconditional love to her country!" Sebastian exclaimed.

"Don't talk to me!" Abigail whimpered.

"I'm telling Minsoo. Jane, send me a photo!"

"Wha-NO! NOOOO!" Too late. Sebastian ended the call. He slammed his body on the desk, unable to contain his laughter. Soon enough, Jane sent the photo of a slightly blurry husband pillow. He opened a chat with Minsoo and typed quickly.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: Minsoo_

 _-hey_

 _-Minsoo Park: what?_

 _-I was talking with Gus and Emily._

 _-Sebastian Callahan: wanna see something funny?_

 _-your sister sent me this._

 _-Minsoo Park: Shoot._

Chuckling, Sebastian posted Jane's sent picture. In a few seconds, Minsoo replied.

 _-Minsoo Park: lol wtf_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: typical Abby_

 _-Minsoo Park: this is a whole new level_

 _-I understand if it was Korea_

 _-but holy cow_

 _-you can never see that in France_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: lmao_

 _-Minsoo Park: i've seen worse though_

What? How can there be something worse than Abigail's pillow? Sebastian's mind became locked to the conversation now.

 _-Minsoo Park: there was a girl who sold B1A4's booger for 100 dollars in 2014_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: wtf_

 _-that's messed up_

 _-i'm not even laughing_

 _-that's really disgusting_

 _-it's something Abby would buy tho_

 _-Minsoo Park: I thought so._

 _-look, Gus asked me to help in the kitchen_

 _-see you_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: k bye_

* * *

Sebastian walked up to the kitchen after his work. Robin came in from the door with a pair of blueprints in hand.

"Sebby?" Robin called when she saw her son. "Oh, good. I was about to ask you a favor."

"What is it?" Sebastian replied with a moody way.

"Leah gave me these blueprints of a keg for Jane's birthday, but since she knows that your girlfriend can't build, I decided to make some. I have five outside."

"Cool. What does that have to do with me?"

"Can you be a good boy and take them to the farm?" Robin pleaded. Sebastian wondered. He was just about to get some rest and his mother had to interfere. He wanted to immediately refuse, but it's his girlfriend she was talking about. That was enough for the raven-haired boy to nod.

"Thank you, Sebby!" Robin chirped.

Sebastian saw the size of the kegs outside. They were as tall as his hip. He took the rope and tied three on his bike. He ended up not having enough space for the other two, so he had to take two trips.

After transporting the three jets to Agria Farm, Sebastian returned to the Carpenter's Shop and tied the remaining two legs on his bike. He sped down the mountain and stopped at Agria Farm house. He looked around to find Jane waiting at the porch.

"Hi, Jane. Came back from Abby?" Jane nodded.

"Never in my life have I seen that thing from her." The farmer giggled.

 _I'm gonna post it in the internet._ Jane signed with a mischievous grin.

"We should make a evil lair, Jane." Sebastian replied. He climbed out of his bike and untied the kegs. After placing them next to the house, he gave a sigh of content and accepted Jane's hand.

"Leah's present, huh? You gonna make some wine?" Jane nodded.

 _Would you like a bottle?_

"Nah, it's okay. To be honest, I hate alcohol." Sebastian replied.

 _Me too._

"You too? You should taste test it, though… or that's what I saw in documentaries." Jane shrugged.

 _Thank you._ Jane signed before snaking her arms around Sebastian's neck. The raven-haired boy pulled her in a passionate kiss.

"You're welcome." Sebastian said after releasing his lips. "Wanna go for some shooting training?" Jane nodded with a smile. "Great. Let's get in." Sebastian concluded before helping his girlfriend on his bike and sped to the mountains.


	30. CHAPTER 29: Depth (Jane)

As soon as they arrived at the Carpenter's Shop, Jane and Sebastian entered the boyfriend's room and chose their weapons. Jane accepted the Martini-Henry that Sebastian gave and he picked up a M1 Garand and a sawn-off shotgun. The farmer couldn't find ways to not be amazed at how big the weapons collection was. Thanks to her video game experiences, Jane could pinpoint what gun was what, like the lever-action 1897 rifle and the Colt Peacemaker. She wished that she could shoot like she knew.

Shooting practice officially began in the Adventurer's Guild. Jane's was improving at a slightly faster rate. Her aiming position was less awkward, she moved less by the recoil and the most important of all, her aim was getting better. She still needed help in reloading as it was still considered very slow. She constantly dropped the bullet, her prosthetic finger jammed the reloading mechanism and so on. Thankfully, Sebastian was patient enough to calmly teach her how to properly reload. In the end, the rest of the hour-long training session ended up in just practicing how to reload until Jane perfectly reloaded five times in a row.

"Perfect! That's how you do it!" Sebastian complimented his girlfriend. Jane gave a smile to thank him. "I think you're ready."

 _For what?_

"It's time to go down there." Oh dear. Did he mean the mines? Just hearing about it gave the farmer a shiver down her spine. Jane thought to herself. Was she ready? Can she overcome the very monster that took away her voice?

"Jane, you'll be fine. I'll be at your back, okay?" Sebastian assured, but Jane didn't move an inch. She was still unsure about herself, even with a rifle at hand. "Tell you what, what if I gave you this?" The raven-haired boy asked, holding his shotgun out. "You won't have to worry about aim. Here, let me show how easily you can reload." He then showed her how to reload. It looked simple, just like in Battlefield. Jane tried to hold it. It was definitely lighter than a rifle. She nodded. "Great, let's get going then."

* * *

The mines, oh the mines. The cold and dim atmosphere set the welcome mat for Jane and Sebastian. It was difficult to breathe. In such a enclosed space. Despite being armed to the teeth with guns and pickaxe, Jane was still engulfed with fear. Sebastian seemed to notice, however, as he turned her to face him.

"Jane, look at me." He said, both hands on her shoulders. "I told you, I'll watch your back. I won't let you down, okay?" Jane nodded while sheepishly looking at his eyes. "You're so adorable, you know that?" Jane couldn't help but to blush furiously by his compliment. She tiptoed to her boyfriend's face and pecked his lips.

 _I'm ready._ She signed.

"Great. Let's go down. You first." Sebastian said before helping Jane down the ladder.

Fortunately for Jane, there were no monsters down at the first level. All there were were rocks and strange stones patches of brown substance that gave a metallic luster.

"That's copper." Sebastian explained. He took his pickaxe and struck the rock a few times until it shattered. "Give this to Clint, the blacksmith here. He'll tell you what to do with it." He said, placing the copper ore into a sack.

 _May I try?_

"I was about to give it to you. Here, try hitting the rock in front of you." Sebastian handed Jane the pickaxe.

'I can do this.' She reminded herself. She remembered what her boyfriend did and raised the pickaxe. With all of the strength she could muster, Jane struck the rock. It shattered! She couldn't believe her eyes. She did it! Jane squealed in delight and turned to Sebastian.

"Good job. Look at that! That rock was hiding a ladder!" He said, pointing at where the rock was.

The couple climbed down the ladder. The place was larger than the previous level and so was the quantity of rocks scattered around. Echoes of wind resonated from the walls. Jane looked around her surrounding, then turned to her boyfriend for explanations. She saw him readying his lever-action rifle.

"There are monsters from here." He said. The little confidence inside the farmer was now gone. Jane started to shiver. "You have the shotgun. Your mission is to kill ten monsters, okay?" Sebastian reminded and Jane nervously nodded. She pulled her shotgun out and slowly walked forward, her shotgun pointing at where she looked.

The fact that she didn't see any monsters despite her boyfriend saying that they do added to Jane's fear factor. Despite knowing that Sebastian got her back, the farmer's heart thumped faster.

 _Squelch._

"There's one." Sebastian said. Indeed, out in the dark, a green glob of monstrosity twice the size of Iseul appeared in front of Jane. Jane reached her shotgun, taking aim directly at the slime as it slithered closer. She knew that she had the upper hand, but something in her mind prevented her from pulling the trigger. The slime positioned itself, ready to strike. "Jane, pull the trigger!" Jane's boyfriend yelled. Too late. The slime pounced, flying to the farmer at full speed in the air…

 _ **KA-BOOM!**_

The slime was gone. It's pieces missed Jane entirely and the cytoplasm scattered across the floor harmlessly. Jane looked at her gun to find her finger tightly pressing the trigger. Her right shoulder ached by the recoil. The left barrel of the shotgun smoked. It was her first victory.

Despite this, Jane broke down in tears. She had never felt this scared. Sebastian pulled her to his arms and rocked around right and left, trying to soothe her. He was so warm to her.

"You did well, Jane. You don't have to be scared. Just nine more, okay?" Jane nodded, and the two released themselves and continued walking.

Sebastian decided that he would do the mining of metallic ores while Jane nervously agreed to continue her hunt for monsters. Now that she had no protection from her boyfriend, Jane's heart beat faster and her past fears returned. She had one full shell remaining in her shotgun. Her teeth chattered by how scared she was. Alone. Dark. Difficult to breathe. It was as if she was diving into the depths of the ocean. She…

 _Squelch._

Another slime. Jane readied her shotgun. This time, it wasn't in front of her. She looked around to find it approaching her on the left. Scraping up the last of her confidence, she sealed her eyes shut pulled the trigger.

 _ **KA-BOOM!**_

The gun fired and Jane was pushed back slightly by the recoil. The farmer opened her eyes to find the slime still alive. The shotgun's pellets mostly hit the ground around the monster, while the ones that hit it made holes in its membrane, spewing out acidic cytoplasm on the ground. Jane pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened. The gun was now filled with the husks of the shells. Jane begged the gun to fire. The slime was now ready to pounce. Jane screamed at the gun as she awaited her imminent demise…

 _ **BANG!**_

The slime broke into pieces and fell backwards. It's organelles splattered the ground. This wasn't from the shotgun. In fact, the gunshot wasn't from it. Jane turned back to find Sebastian aiming his rifle at where the slime was. His rifle's barrel was smoking.

"I guess it wasn't a good idea to leave you alone." The raven-haired boy said, pulling the lever and the slug fell to the ground. He picked it up and placed it in his ammunition pouch. Jane wanted to throw herself to him and cry, but her instincts prevented her. "The slime was too far away for the shotgun."

 _But it was about to attack!_ Jane signed.

"I know, but.. uh…" Sebastian hesitated. "...you're right. I don't think slimes should be fought with a shotgun. It's too dangerous for you. I think I should teach you how to use something else…" he finally said. "For now, take my rifle. You used the 1897 Russian rifle in Battlefield, right?" Jane nodded. "Here. Give me the shotgun." The farmer took her boyfriend's rifle and handed him the sawn-off shotgun.

* * *

For the next one hour, Jane mined up copper and picked up quartz in the way while shooting down slimes. Sebastian took care of the monsters that he considered too dangerous for her like bugs. By the time the second level was cleared, Jane had expended her stamina as she shot the tenth slime. She smiled weakly knowing that she had fulfilled her quota. The couple was now at the fifth level. There was a lift down here, surprisingly.

"Good job, Jane! That was tenth slime!" Sebastian complimented, kissing Jane's forehead. "So, how was it?"

 _Scary_ Jane replied.

"Well, I guess it is. You aren't the only person who's scared. I cried for mom when I first came in here when I was twelve." Hearing this, Jane giggled. "Hey, you cried to!" Jane responded with a whine.

 _I'm telling Abby!_ Jane playful threatened, but Sebastian didn't seem to fight back.

"Do whatever you want. She already knows." Sebastian said. Jane followed him into the lift. Here, she saw her boyfriend press a button and the lift shut its doors and it lurched down, startling Jane with a squeak. Sebastian laughed at the reaction, making her nudge his stomach.

* * *

During the descent, Jane and Sebastian shared numerous stories about anything related with darkness and underground. Sebastian did most of the talking because Jane had a lot of… traumatic events in her past. Luckily, Sebastian understood it and only waited for things she would like to say.

"...did I tell you about how Abby has a sword?" The raven-haired boy said.

 _I didn't know!_ Jane replied. Indeed, this was the first time she had heard of it. Maybe Abigail's obsession to Korea masked it.

"Hmm…before you came, she wanted to brag that she wanted to go for an adventure. What an idiot."

 _Why?_

"She barely walked into the second floor of the mines! I remember when she saw her first slime, she screamed and climbed back up! Can you believe a scary cat like _her_ would want to go on a adventure?" Jane burst into laughter. She found the fact that Abigail tried to bluff at her friends funny. "What about you? May I know a story about you in the dark?" Jane paused. As mentioned, most of her memories in the dark was traumatic. She didn't want to remind herself the horrors of her high school days, but she had been sealing some pressure inside her than had built up over the years. She wanted to let some of the steam leave.

"Uh… Jane?" Sebastian asked. Giving a deep breath, Jane pulled her phone out and started typing.

* * *

 _ **2nd of Fall, 2017, Junghwa High School, Seoul, South Korea**_

 _The class bell rang the tune that resembled a piano. Jane and Jiwoo walked down the hall towards their classroom. Today was her seventeenth birthday, and Jane would have to go through the Korean tradition of getting beaten up during birthdays. Although others take it as a joke (and Jane wished to take it as one too), the mute girl's classmates beat her up obviously drastically than the others._

' _I don't want to go in.' Jane signed to Jiwoo as they neared their classroom door._

" _Haneul, the teacher will scold us if we don't! We have no choice!" Jiwoo replied._

' _I wish I had stayed home acting sick.' Jane thought before nervously opening the door._

 _The classroom was dim. Despite being after lunch, the room was gloomy due to the closed curtains._

" _What's happening?" Jiwoo asked herself._

 _It all happened all of a sudden._

 _Jane's classmates appeared out of nowhere and surrounded her. Among the five girls that were the closest to her, two of them grasped Jane's shoulders while the other three stuffed a backpack on her head. They shut the zipper by the neck so that no light could shine into the bag. The high school girl was now enveloped in darkness. The congested bag made her difficult to breathe as she screamed for help despite knowing that the bag muffled her voices._

" _Happy birthday!" The classmates mockingly yelled. A hand shoved her by the shoulder._

" _It's time for your_ _생일빵_ _(Birthday beating)!" A feminine voice said._

" _We've searched a game called Marco Polo that's popular in America! You're It, Haneul!" A masculine voice said. Jane wanted to refuse, but the bag that blocked her vision prevented her classmates from seeing her shake her head despite doing it vigorously._

" _Guys, I don't think she wants to do it…" Jiwoo's voice said._

" _Shut up, Jiwoo. No one asked you. Let's start the game before the teacher comes!" With that, Jane heard footsteps moving away from her. She knew how this game went. She remembered playing this with her old friends at Ferngill Republic. What where their names…? She didn't remember. As she knew the rules, Jane limped around, searching for anyone that she could touch. However, her prosthetic leg rendered her slow, thus making Jane's search futile. During her struggle, she felt hands touching her in places she felt uncomfortable. Later, some classmates even began shoving her with significant force. This wasn't a game. They were mocking her for her injuries. Jane wanted to cry. However, as time passed, kicks started entering the scene. One classmate kicked Jane so hard that she fell to the ground. She now burst into tears._

" _Cry baby! Not even I do that!" A feminine voice gloated followed by a kick on her hip. More tears streamed down the high school girl's cheeks as feet stepped on her crippled body. She wanted to commit suicide…_

" _Hey, the teacher's coming!" A masculine voice rang. The atmosphere became frantic. Someone pulled the bag out from Jane's head. It was Jiwoo._

" _Haneul, are you okay?" She asked. Jane nodded. "They're bastards. I didn't participate. Come on, let's get up before the teacher says something." She said, hoisting the mute girl up to her feet and escorting her to her seat. Oh, how hatred and rage flowed through Jane. She could have spewed out the crimes that her classmates had committed to her if only it the teacher wasn't so biased and corrupt…_

* * *

Jane stopped typing. Her eyes started streaming tears as she saw Sebastian's face turn from eager listening mode to regret. As she started sobbing, the farmer felt arms wrapping around her body.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Jane." Sebastian whispered. "They're bastards, not having a single ounce of morale. You made the right choice coming here." Jane nodded, sobbing. "You're safe with me. They're not gonna come here to harm you. If they did, Pelican Town has your back."

 _Nobody has ever said this to me other than my brother._ Jane signed.

"It's okay." Sebastian said. Suddenly, the lift jolted into a halt. Jane was once again startled by the stop. Did the lift break? Were they about to die? "We're here." Her boyfriend said. Never mind. The lift shutter opened to reveal a large cavern with… a lake. Stalactites hung from the ceilings, giving out drops of milky water to the clear lake down them. Every drip that echoed through the walls soothed Jane.

"What do you think of this place?" Sebastian asked as the couple walked closer to the water.

 _It's so beautiful._ Jane replied.

"Yeah, it is."

 _Why did you bring me here?_

"I thought you might like it. I wanted to bring you here to congratulate you on your first victory. You know what I'm saying?" Jane nodded. She sat down on the ground with the aid of Sebastian. He sat down too, letting the farmer use his shoulder as a pillow. The two held each other's hand tightly as they observed the stillness of the water sing the Song of Tranquility.

* * *

An eternity seemed to have passed when the lift stopped at the surface. Sebastian escorted Jane out of the lift and eventually out of the mines. Jane was welcomed by the fresh air and the smell of grass of the outside. The sky gave a rich golden color, signaling that it was pretty late. The farmer returned her guns to her boyfriend as they walked back towards the Carpenter's Shop.

"What a day." Sebastian sighed. Jane could only nod in agreement. "I'm so proud to have a girlfriend like you, you know that?" Jane gave him a look of curiosity. "I mean, you managed to overcome your fear of the mines and killed ten monsters. Best of all, you're so adorable." Just as the farmer gave a whine of futility, Sebastian cupped her chin and pulled her into a tender kiss. "I hope Minsoo won't know about this…"

"Well, I do." Jane gasped at the sudden voice in front of them. Indeed, there he was: Minsoo. His arms were crossed and his face gave an expression of slight anger.

"Uh… hi, Minsoo." Sebastian stuttered.

"What the hell were you two doing there?" The tall man asked, staring at the mine entrance. He then focused his eyes back to Sebastian, who was having guns in his backpack.  
"We… we can explain…"

"Well, you'll explain when you tell me what these are for!" Minsoo said, pulling out a rifle from the raven-haired boy.

 _I think we should tell the truth._ Jane signed. Sebastian nodded and opened his mouth.

"I was teaching her how to shoot."

"What for?!" Minsoo yelled.

"You'll not believe me, but there are monsters down in the mines, along with precious stuff that'll be useful for your sister's farm."

"Oh, really?"

"Very." Sebastian nervously replied as Jane saw Minsoo operating the rifle.

"I'm surprised that you have these weapons." Minsoo said, turning to his sister. "How well can you shoot?"

"She can shoot well."  
"How long have you been training from him?" Jane pointed out two fingers. "Days? Weeks? Seasons?"

"Weeks." Sebastian replied in behalf. A long pause followed. With every second flowing through the ripples of existence, Jane became more anxious. What if Minsoo became even more protective and banned her from dating Sebastian? That would be a catastrophe.

"Tell you two what." Minsoo said. The couple snapped back to reality. "I'll let my sister in the mines with you, Sebastian." Jane gave a sigh of relief. "...but with one exception."

"What is it?" Sebastian asked.

"Every time you take my sister into that cave, I must accompany you." Jane turned to her boyfriend. It didn't sound too bad. She could use a helping hand in mining rocks.

"Minsoo, it's not that simple as it looks." The raven-haired boy said. Minsoo raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue. "Ever heard of the Adventurer's Guild?"

"No, and it sounds like it's from Skyrim."

"Close, but it's reality." Sebastian replied. "It's a place where adventurers like we two go down into the mines to take care of monsters. They're responsible for keeping this Valley safe."

"Interesting. Take me there." Minsoo said, walking towards the Adventurers' Guild building, but Jane's boyfriend stopped him.

"It's closed right now. I'll take you there tomorrow."

"Fine." Minsoo grunted. With that, Minsoo moved out of the way for the couple. Jane watched Sebastian place the guns back into his secret closet. They shared one final kiss and bid goodbyes for the day as Minsoo awaited the farmer from outside.


	31. CHAPTER 30: Vineyard (Sebastian)

It has been a week after Minsoo's first knowledge about the mines. Sebastian exited from his bathroom looking fresh as ever. He checked his phone to find a message from Jane with a picture of her pouting on the bed.

'Wow, she's really cute.' The raven-haired boy didn't hide his smile. He dressed up and walked up the stairs to ground level where nobody was awake. He opened the refrigerator and found nothing worth eating.

'...guess I'll skip breakfast.' Sebastian thought before closing it. Just then, his stomach gave a grumble. He clenched his stomach, only to feel hardness.

His muscles developed.

Strange. He always thought that he was soft and lean. However, this was different. Could it be because of Jane's farm? It felt weird. Not that he was complaining, though. The only question was when he would use the muscles when he works as a programmer. Sebastian pushed the thoughts away for now. He should be going to the farm.

* * *

At first when Sebastian knocked on the farmhouse's door. He expected his girlfriend to open it. Not this time.

"Sebastian." Minsoo said.

"Uh… hey." Sebastian replied.

"Haneul's eating breakfast. Do you usually come here early?"

"Well, yeah. You're not going to like me when you know my old schedule."

"Hmm. Listen, I'm still not over about last week's evening. You don't know how it felt for my sister to hold a gun."

"I'm sorry. Almost everybody in the Valley agreed that she needs to go to the mines."

"Why?!"

"Because, Jane's gonna need metal to make her stuff. My mom asked Clint about it, who is the blacksmith here…"

"Wait, you guys still have a blacksmith?!" Sebastian could see Minsoo's flabbergasted expression.

"Pelican Town's nearly cut off from technology except for a few things. Maybe it's because people here like tradition. It's strange if I think about it."

"Oh, you're gonna feel weirded out when you see Korea. Not technologically wise."

"Hmmm…" Sebastian hummed.

"Continue." Minsoo added.

"Okay. Clint doesn't have the metals right now, so he's selling ore for like… explosive prices. Do you think Jane could by them herself? Of course not!"

"Jesus Christ… was this the first time my sister used a pickaxe?" The raven-haired boy nodded. Minsoo nodded too. Just as the Korean Amman was about to speak, someone familiar peeked from behind him.

Jane.

Her first emotion was full of curiosity, but as soon as she saw Sebastian, it got replaced with a smile. She signaled him to come in. When Minsoo nodded, Sebastian entered the house and shut the door behind him. The Park family seemed to be eating breakfast. They were eating pancakes. Interesting. Sebastian never thought asians would eat such things, but maybe it's just his stereotypical mind doing its thing.

Yoba, the food made him drool, and it didn't help when he skipped breakfast back at the Shop. His mind became blank until something tapped on his shoulder. He snapped back to reality and faced Jane.

 _Hungry?_ She asked.

"Nah, it's okay. I don't need…"

 _Grumble_

'Perfect timing, you sack of acid.' Sebastian scolded himself.

"Sebastian, I have some spare pancakes here!" Jane's mother said, holding a plate of tower of rich goodness. Oh god, this isn't good. He wanted to refuse, but he was too famished to say no. He decided to nod. The woman smiled and laid a plate along with a fork and knife down.

"Thank you." Sebastian said before slowly eating the pancakes. Holy cow, they're GOOD.

* * *

Holding tools and baskets, Sebastian, Jane and Minsoo were handling the crops. It was the first cranberry harvest. As usual, the raven-haired boy helped his farmer girlfriend water the infant crops while her brother took care of picking cranberries off from their plants and placing them in baskets. Jane occasionally picked the berries too, but she placed them in her boyfriend's baskets, weighing him down. When Jane was halfway done, she was panting.

"Tired?" Sebastian asked. Jane nodded, bending over to catch her breath. He looked around the farm. The farm had become much bigger than during Summer. Robin had finally placed fences around the fertile lands and even cut some trees down for Jane. She sure was receiving a lot of services.

"Is she okay?" Minsoo asked, jogging up to the couple.

"She's just tired."

"Hmmm…" Jane's brother rubbed his chin. "Doesn't this town sell like… sprinklers or some sort?" Sebastian shook his head. "이거 미치겠네…(that's insane)" Minsoo grunted and turned around, facing the sky.

"That's why we're mining. We're getting the metal to give it to Clint for him to make them. We currently have only copper. We need some iron and quartz to make an efficient sprinkler."

"Why is this town… SO. FLIPPING. UNDERDEVELOPED?!" Minsoo yelled.

"Calm down. I'm training Jane so that we can go down there and get what we need… safely."

"...But this is outrageous!"

"You promised to come with us whenever we would go."

"Right." Minsoo said. The two boys helped Jane sit down on a basket on the ground. Sebastian couldn't help but smile at how pretty she looked when she stroked a cranberry plant.

"You look like a model." He complimented. Jane's cheeks became pink by it and shook her head in denial, but her smile remained. It didn't help but make Sebastian blush too because of what Jane was wearing: a white dress and a straw hat.

 _You're lying._ She signed _._

"Why would I if i'm your boyfriend?" The raven-haired boy said before leaning in for a kiss.

"Have you heard of public display?" Minsoo scoffed.

 _This is our farm._ Wait, OUR farm? Does she love Sebastian THAT much? He didn't know if he should feel awkward or thankful. He was just her helper… and lover.

The three stayed there sharing conversations and occasionally cracking jokes until Jane signaled that she was ready to go. The three concluded the crops and headed to the coop to find…

Eggs.

Jane squealed with happiness. There were about twelve, five from Sans and Seven from Papyrus. The chickens were both roosting their eggs, looking at the farmer with curiosity as they clucked.

I don't know how to get eggs. Jane signed. Sebastian immediately pulled his phone out and surfed through the internet. There it was. Following by the website, Sebastian gently pushed the avian ball aside and took an egg one by one, making sure that Papyrus didn't peck his hand. Minsoo did the same, but Sans pecked his wrist unfortunately.

"Gah! 이 새끼가… (you little…)" Minsoo stopped when he saw his sister's frown. "미안. (Sorry.)"

"Was that a curse?" Sebastian asked.

"Yup."

"Well, sounded vulgar enough."

"Seb, we have ALOT of ways to swear. Don't underestimate us."

"I can already see that." Sebastian chuckled. The three continued their work. Jane cuddles with the chickens for a while while washing the eggs in some water.

* * *

It was done. Sebastian and Jane were staring at the kegs that the boyfriend brought in yesterday.

"How are we supposed to use these?" He asked himself. Jane shrugged. They weren't brewmasters. Sebastian was certain that even if they knew, the first alcoholic product would taste horrible.

"We have the cranberries, but… do. we even have the yeast?" Minsoo asked.

"Why do we need yeast for making booze?" By Sebastian's question, Minsoo's mouth opened wide, shocked.

"하늘아, 네 남친 병신이냐? (Haneul, is your boyfriend an idiot?) OF COURSE YOU DO!" He boomed.

"Whoa, whoa, don't get mad."

"Mad?! I'm furious that you don't know! It's the most basic thing if you're gonna make alcohol! How do you think dough rises?!"

"Uh…" Sebastian hesitated. He scraped through his brain to find what he had begrudgingly learned during his school days. "...yeast eats glucose and converts it into… uh… carbon dioxide and… alcohol… OH!" He exclaimed in realization.

"There you go!" Minsoo yelled in relief. Just then, Jane's father exited from the house and approached the trio.

"민수야, 무슨 일이니? (Minsoo, what's wrong?)" he asked.

"아무것도 아니에요, 아버지. (It's nothing, father.)" Minsoo replied.

"소리를 지르니깐 걱정하지. 다음부턴 조심하라. (It worries me when you shout. Be careful next time.)"

"예. (Okay.)" with Minsoo's reply, father turned to Sebastian.

"Have fun, Sebastian!" He said before walking back into the house. Just as the door closed behind him, Sebastian noticed Jane facing the farm's entrance to find two feminine figures approaching. He squinted his eyes to analyze who they were.

Leah and… Abigail?

"Minsoo, you know who Leah is, right?" He asked.

"Yup. It's the red-haired girl with braided hair, right?"

"Correct. She's coming here. Oh wait, Abby's with her."

"What?!" Minsoo exclaimed. "아, 빡친다. (Oh, this is annoying.)" he grunted, grabbing the back of his head.

 _He said that he's annoyed._ Jane translated.

"Why?" Sebastian asked.

"Because! She keeps talking about K-Pop! Even if she doesn't she talks about K-Dramas and Reality Shows, especially Running Man and 2 Days and 1 Night! It's okay at first, but it gets annoying." The raven-haired boy nodded. There were some times when Sebastian snapped when Abigail kept pulling out such topics before. He hoped Minsoo would keep his cool, though. Jane limped to the two girls to free them with a friendly wave.

"Hello, Jane!" Leah beamed.

"Hi, Jane!" Abby chirped.

"Hey." Minsoo awkwardly greeted. "What brought you two here?"

"I saw Jane's Facebook post about her cranberries, so I'm here to help you." Leah replied.

"How are you going to do that?"

"You see, I gave your sister the kegs."

"Oh right, I remember."

"I have experience making wine myself thanks to my mother's family. I want to teach you three how to use our kegs."

"I see." Sebastian replied. "...and you, Abby?"

"Oh, um… um… I…" Abigail stuttered.

"Are you here to see Minsoo?"

"Seb?" Minsoo gritted his teeth.

"N-no! I bumped into Leah and I decided to help, too!" The purple-haired girl retaliated, blushing. Sebastian flipped her off.

"Uh… is it okay if I continue?" Leah asked. Jane nodded. The artist walked to one of the kegs and started explaining. "These kegs are special… in fact, the way it's made is actually a secret to my maternal family! All you have to do is put something like… fruits or wheat inside! That's it!"

"What about yeast?" Minsoo asked.

"You don't have to! Each keg has a special compartment inside where yeast can grow and reproduce! Whenever you put your favored product inside, the yeast will be released and it will ferment by itself!" Jane was smiling like an idiot by this point.

"So, all we need to do is crush fruit and then we're off?"

"Yup!"

"Sounds easy enough. Jane, wanna try it now?" Sebastian asked. Looking at her prosthetic leg for a while, the farmer sheepishly nodded.

* * *

While Sebastian helped Jane haul three large wooden buckets from behind the house to where Leah was, Jane's parents have came to the artist, asking about how the kegs worked. She was still explaining when the couple arrived to the scene.

"준비하려는 거니? (Are you preparing?)" Jane's mother asked. her daughter nodded in response.

Sebastian left the scene to bring the baskets of cranberries that were on the porch. When he returned, however, his girlfriend's parents were nowhere to be seen.

"Uh… where are your parents?" The raven-haired boy asked.

They have gone to town. Jane replied.

"Okay. So, Uh…. what do we do?" By Sebastian's question, Leah proceeded to dump the cranberries into the buckets. She took her shoes off and proceeded to climb in one of the buckets with a squelch.

"We crush!" She replied. Sebastian, Jane, Minsoo and Abigail stared at each other in confusion, awkward about who goes in first. "Come on! Don't be shy!" Three seconds later, Jane tapped her boyfriend's shoulder as if she was asking something.

"Ugh, do. I have to?" Sebastian asked. Jane whined in plea. Wow, she really wants to do it, huh? "...fine." They took their shoes and socks off, He took her hand and they both climbed on the second buckets. The sensation of the cranberries being crushed by their feet felt… ticklish. Jane giggled whenever her right foot stepped on the berries.

"... I think I should get in, too." Minsoo finally said before awkwardly climbing into the bucket where Leah was working. "...yeah, this is weird." He remarked. Abigail then proceeded to climb in the same bucket. She would have stumbled if she didn't grab onto… Minsoo. "Really?" The man grunted.

"S-sorry…" Abigail bashfully apologized.

Meanwhile, Jane started to limp around the bucket while holding Sebastian's hand tightly to prevent falling. The raven-haired boy was standing still, feeling very awkward. Seeing that his girlfriend seemed to be having fun, he decided to move his feet around, crushing he cranberries.

It was strange at first, but as a minute passed, Sebastian was having fun. He accepted a little dance with Jane holding both of her hands. The farmer was smiling like an adorably silly girl which caused a smile to appear on the raven-haired boy, too. A song that could only be heard on the couple's hearts rang around the farm as they picked up pace. Sebastian couldn't believe it. He was enjoying outside activity! This was so unlike him.

'How the hell did I start to like this…' He thought. Just then, Jane tripped on her raven-hair s boy's foot. She gave a squeak and tumbled down in the bucket, falling butt-first with a splash. "Are you okay?!" Sebastian asked, lending a hand. The farmer giggled as she accepted it and stood up. Her dress was covered in smudges of juicy red cranberry juice.

"Aww, you're so adorable!" Abigail cooed.

"Says the girl who's working next to her crush!" Sebastian countered.

"NO!" The purple-haired girl whined, blushing furiously. Minsoo rolled his eyes around while Leah almost collapsed in laughter along with Jane. Sebastian knew that he's going to have a lot of fun making fun of her. What a revenge.

* * *

An hour of crushing, falling and selfies later. The two buckets were now filled with cranberry juices and shells. Leah helped Jane and Minsoo load the juice in the five kegs while Sebastian was approached by Abigail.

"Hey, um… Seb?" She asked.

"What?"

"Wh-what do. you think about Jane?"

"Huh, I thought you knew. She's adorable. I mean, really, especially when she becomes a nerd in the things we do, like in games. You know what I'm saying?"

"Aww." Abigail cooed.

"Why ask?"

"I'm just making sure. Hey, one more thing, what do you think about Minsoo?" Sebastian blinked. What the hell was she asking?

"I… I don't know. Look, Abby. It's been like only a week since Jane's family arrived and… I still don't know much about him. You seem to go really close to him, so I thought you knew better."

"I… don't." Abigail confessed, looking away from the raven-haired boy.

"May I ask you something?" Abigail suddenly turned back to him as if she didn't expect this. "You like Minsoo, huh?" The purple-haired girl snapped on his question, blushing furiously. Her fingers fidgeted as if she was fighting her other self. Sebastian patiently waited until she finally opened her mouth.

"...yeah."


	32. CHAPTER 31: Preparations (Jane)

_Dear Jane,_

 _Next week, we have the most important and anticipated festival of The Valley: the Stardew Valley Fair! People from all around the country (and even from other countries, as of six years ago) will be coming to Pelican Town to enjoy the festival!_

 _The special event here is that there will be granges to showcase your things for the judges to grade. Contestants are to bring nine items of their choosing for it. I have prepared your own for you to showcase the products of Agria Farm!_

 _Remember, next week!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Mayor Lewis McLengst_

"Huh, sounds interesting." Minsoo said behind Jane as she was reading the letter. Jane entered her thought train to remember what it was.

* * *

" _Abby! Sammy!" Six-year old Jane ran to her friends. Her grandfather chuckled as her granddaughter crashed into the purple-haired girl. She stuck her tongue at Sam, making him pout. The environment around the farmer's granddaughter was bustling. Red tents with white stripes towered from the golden grass and leaves. People that Jane had not seen before roamed around the Pelican Town square. They were tourists. There were four showcase granges set near the General Store._

" _This place is boooring." Sam said._

" _No, it's not! Look, Sammy! We can try shooting those round thingies with a gun at that tent, and we can try fishing at that tent!" Jane replied._

" _Gun? Aww, I want a sword." Abigail pouted._

" _Haneul, you three have fun while I talk with the adults, okay?" Grandfather patted the Asian girl and said._

" _Okay, grandpa!" Jane chirped._

 _Hours seemed to have flown like one minute. Jane, Abigail and Sam had the time of their lives shooting targets with a tennis ball gun and even fished herring with the help of Jodi and Kent. Unfortunately, the children were forbidden from playing the roulette game on the center, which Sam wailed over. Jane and Abigail found it funny, though._

 _As the Festival was at its peak, mayor Lewis shouted at everyone to focus on the four granges. There was Pierre, Jane's grandfather, Marnie and Willy standing at their granges._

" _Grandpa! Grandpa!" Jane squealed. Grandfather simply smiled at her and didn't say a word._

" _Alright, contestants! Are you ready for the results?" Lewis called after talking with three people around him. "Unfortunately, fourth place is…_

* * *

"Haneul?" Minsoo called, snapping Jane back to reality. "What's the Fair all about?" Right. Jane typed on her phone the information about the Stardew Valley Fair that she knew and sent a message to her brother. Minsoo pulled his phone out and read it. He then nodded in understanding.

"Right. Sounds interesting. Hope our parents come back from Zuzu before that." Jane nodded in response. Indeed, the main reason of why her parents were in Ferngill was because of a business trip. Minsoo was here for a simple break and to research some food ingredients as his teacher chef's assignment. They left The Valley this morning and expected to come back in a week. "Do you remember what grandfather used for his grange?" Uh-oh, Jane didn't know. Her memories were foggy, especially during the judging time. She shook her head in response.

Jane turned to her soon-to-be worked on farm. 'Where's Seb?' She wondered. Just as she thought, she heard a motorcycle rumble to the farm.

Sebastian.

The farmer limped as quickly as possible to the motorcycle to see her boyfriend. When the raven-haired boy dismounted his bike, Jane threw herself to him, almost making him fall to the ground.

"Whoa, hey Jane!" Sebastian chuckled. The farmer showed him the mayor's letter. He read the letter and scratched his head. "...so you want to join this?" Jane nodded.

 _It'll be fun!_ Jane signed.

"Ugh, I'm not sure. I don't even know how the showcase thing works. In fact, I didn't care about it." Jane pouted her lips when she heard that.

'Oh really?' She thought. Time to use the standard Korean girlfriend technique. She gave a high-pitched whine and rubbed her face on her boyfriend's chest. She then looked up to his eyes with puppy-dog eyes and poured her lips. She knew that the raven-haired boy couldn't last long against it. Unexpectedly, Sebastian quickly leaned to the farmer's face and pecked her lips. The Raven-haired boy smirked as her face became rosy. She did not expect that coming.

"You know what? Sure." Jane started to smile.

"So, you two done with your PDA?" Minsoo asked as he walked towards the couple.

"Is there a problem?" Sebastian asked.

"Kissing in front of the girlfriend's brother is such a good idea, isn't it?" The man asked sarcastically.

"So, what are our plans? How are we gonna win this Fair?" A short pause followed when something sparked in Jane's mind.

 _We can ask Lewis_.

"Hey, I guess that's a good idea. Wanna go now?" Sebastian asked.

"Well, I have nothing to do today other than go see Gus, so, I'm fine." Minsoo complied. Jane finally nodded. They started their farmwork before the two boys escort her to Pelican Town.

* * *

"My, if it isn't our farmer! Oh, and her brother and…"

"No need to go that far, ." Sebastian stopped Lewis from finishing his sentence.

"Well, if you're that embarrassed…" the old man shrugged, making Jane giggled. "Come in!" He ushered the three young people in. After they took a seat, Lewis poured each one of them a cup of milk tea. "So, what is it that you want to know?"

"We… uh, want to know about the Fair next week." Sebastian asked.

"Ah, I see. I thought you knew, Sebastian. Okay, since your brother may not know, Jane, I'll explain."

"Mr, my sister had already told me. We're here to know how the showcase works." Minsoo added.

"I see. Hmm… I'm not supposed to talk about this…"

"We wanna know how Pierre always wins. That's why it's boring." Sebastian said.

"All he brings is fresh products and all… you're right. Every time he wins, less tourists come…" a short pause followed.

"...so, you're gonna leave my sister without any source of help?" Jane's brother asked.

"No, I was just thinking about the Fair three years ago." Lewis cleaned bis throat. "Very well. The the first thing is quality. That seemed to be Pierre's biggest reason." Jane pulled her phone out and started to type. The second is value. The more rare and expensive the item is per… one box, the bigger the chance the judges will give you a higher score." The three young people nodded. "The last thing, the most IMPORTANT thing is diversity." Jane looked up as if she wanted to ask what it meant.

"That, is something that even Pierre overlooks. Look, Jane. It's very difficult to win with just your crops. Hmm… I remember that Leah gave you some kegs, didn't she?" Jane nodded.

 _We're making wine._ She typed.

"Good! That's one good way to add diversity! Other than that, I know that you'll find more ways to make your showcase better!"

After an hour worth of talking and leaving the mayor's house, Jane was swarmed with thought. What could she do to make her showcase diverse? If her occupation was a farmer, why would she use something other than crops? Was her produce high in quality?

"Haneul? You okay?" Minsoo asked in Korean, snapping the farmer back to reality. She nodded.

 _I was thinking about diversity._ She signed.

"Hmm… it's kinda weird, if you ask me. Why would people want a farmer to like… go away from crops? This is like the Korean education system where people expect students to do EVERYHING!"

"Hmm… I think… I think I know a way." Sebastian said. All the attention turned to him. "Wh-what?"

"You said that you had an idea."

"Right." The Raven-haired boy sighed. "The mines." Jane's eyes grew wide, as if she heard an adult joke.

"...what?" Minsoo asked, slightly threatening.

"They want diversity, right? I think I know how to do it. We can get minerals from the mines and… if we're lucky, gems."

"There is no way I'm gonna let my sister get hurt down there." Sebastian sighed at his words. Jane was looking at the two boys, hoping that they won't get into a fight. She thought that her boyfriend was right, though. She may be scared of what's down there, but maybe whatever's down there will give her an advantage next week.

"Didn't you say that you'll let us ONLY if you come with us?" Sebastian asked. Minsoo flinched for a second.

"Jesus, this is why I hate people with good memory." The man grunted. "Alright, fine. When do we go?"

"Today."

"...fine. We'll go after the meeting with Gus."

* * *

While Minsoo was sitting on a chair next to the counter where Gus stood behind it and shared business matters together, Jane and Sebastian sat next to the brother while they ate some lunch of pizza. The couple were having a tranquil date together while the farmer overheard the conversation.

"...two years of compulsory service?" Gus asked.

"Well, yes. Because of our northern neighbor, our country's conscripting men to… you know from there." Minsoo replied.

"It must've been painful."

"Yeah, it was. Good thing it's all over and I could continue to be an apprentice of a chef."

"Hmm… may I know his name?" Gus asked, looking at the clock.

"Choi Hyunseok." Jane gasped when she heard it.

"Hmm, I think I heard that name before." The Saloon owner said.

"What's wrong? Who's that?" Sebastian whispered. Jane wanted to bounce with joy, but had to contain herself. Oh, how she wanted to boast.

 _He's a popular chef in my country_. Jane signed.

"Oh, that's… that's pretty awesome." Her boyfriend replied, taking a slice of pizza. "Say ah." He said, blushing. The farmer giggled as she opened her mouth and bit the pizza.

"...I will have to see how you cook, Minsoo. What can you cook?"

"It depends on what you have in the kitchen."

"I see. Follow me into my kitchen." With that, Gus walked into the small double doors with Minsoo following.

 _Will we taste it?_ Jane asked Sebastian.

"Eh, highly doubt it." He replied. Jane pouted, disappointed that she won't be able to taste the best of her brother's cooking.

Twenty minutes later, Gus and Minsoo returned to the counter and shook their hands.

"I hope to see how we can go." The stout man said.

"Thank you, sir." Minsoo replied, then turned to the couple. We're done. Let's go." He said as he walked to the door. Sebastian helped Jane up to her feet and took her out of the Saloon.

"What did he say?" The Raven-haired boy asked.

"I got the job. I'll be working at the Saloon until I go back to Korea." Minsoo replied. Jane smiled as she clapped for her brother. She already couldn't wait for Friday nights! "Thank you. I'm flattered" her brother jokingly added. "Now, I guess it's the mines?"

"Yup. You can walk to my house, right? I mean, Jane can't so…"

"I can. See you there." Minsoo said before separating from the couple and walking north up the mountain. The couple held their hands and walked back to the farm with blissful silence.

* * *

Jane was surprised to see her brother waiting beside the Carpenter's Shop when she arrived with her boyfriend's bike.

"You're here pretty early." Sebastian said as he helped Jane off the bike.

"Or maybe YOU'RE late." Minsoo replied.

"Touché. Alright, let's go inside. Promise me to NEVER talk about my guns to my parents, okay?"

"Sure." The three entered the Shop, said a warm hello to Robin and quickly walked down to Sebastian's room. Jane was now used to her boyfriend's room, but Minsoo didn't seem to be.

"Merde, this place is dark as hell!" The brother said.

"This is what happens when you have a discriminating stepfather. Please close the door?" Sebastian asked. Jane closed it in behalf. "Thanks."

"Alright, let's get on with it. Show me the guns."

 _You'll be amazed!_ Jane signed. Minsoo nodded as the Raven-haired boy walked to his weapons closet and opened it, revealing his collection of weapons. Jane made a small smile when she saw his father's Martini-Henry on the top.

"Holy Jesus…" Minsoo said behind his breath. "How did you even get these?"

"They're my father's. He was a skeet shooter and his father was… a war museum curator." Sebastian replied. Jane saw her brother's eyes lock on the weapons used during the Second World War.

"Wow, your family seems… awesome." The brother commented.

"I know. Alright. What I've learned from Penny, who asked Gunther…"

"You mean Professor Von Esling?"

"Yeah. The stuff we need is… either at the fifth to twentieth levels and the fortieth to fiftieth level. What we're looking for are amethyst and frozen tears."

"Frozen tears? What is the hell are those?"

"it's a long story." Sebastian replied as he picked up a Thompson Submachine gun, loaded with a drum magazine and handed it to Minsoo. "You know how to use these, hmm?"

"Merde, this looks awesome! Of course I do! One question though." Jane's focus snapped to her brother.

 _Are you going to ask what I'm going to hold?_ Jane asked.

"Yeah, what she said."

"Well…" the Raven-haired boy turned back to the drawer and hummed in thought. He then pulled out a 1903 Springfield rifle and handed it to the farmer. "Remember your first training?" Jane nodded.

* * *

The three were ready and headed for the mines with backpacks full of weapons and a pickaxe. Minsoo was holding the Tommygun, Sebastian a Trench shotgun while Jane held the pickaxe and the Springfield. Minsoo decided to hold the pickaxe so that his sister won't have to hold all the weight. She thanked him as they reached the lift.

"We'll start at the fifteenth level." Sebastian said as he pressed a button. The lift doors closed and quickly descended down the depths.

"Why does this remind me of coal mine documentaries?" Minsoo muttered.

"It was, it's just abandoned for unknown reasons." The Raven-haired boy replied.

"Aren't you scared?" Jane responded by pinching the air.

The lift stopped and every dismounted. Jane was accompanied by her brother to search for anything worth showing for the Stardew Valley Fair. To save time, they ignored the mundane-looking rocks in search of anything spectacular, such as rocks with something strange embedded on it. Meanwhile, Sebastian patrolled around the siblings searching for any monsters that may attack them. Fortunately, there weren't any near them, although Jane could hear squelching sounds of slimes from afar. Minutes passed with no luck and gunshots from Sebastian until Jane found something unusual in a small rock. She picked it up.

"What do you think it is?" Minsoo asked. Jane shrugged as she handed the rock to him. "It's a geode, I think." He then proceeded to take something wrapped in a cloth and unwrapped it to reveal a multipurpose utility knife.

 _Why would you bring that here?_ Jane asked.

"Why not?" Her brother shrugged. He hit the geode with the back of the knife until it started to crack. Inside revealed something dark purple. Jane gasped, immediately knowing what it was: Amethyst.

Jane squealed in delight as she snatched the geode from her brother. Minsoo smirked when he saw her. She was the happiest girl in the valley. She had found a gemstone! She placed the geode in her bag and continued searching.

* * *

Soon, the three young people exited the mines with bags filled with valuable gemstones and ore. Jane and Minsoo were panting out of exhaustion. The farmer nudged her boyfriend in the shoulder when he chuckled.

"What? It was… funny." Sebastian said.

 _My brother's awesome!_ Jane signed, waiting for his reply.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that from him."

"Well, if you have compulsory military training, that happens. Merde, I need a drink."

* * *

" _So, what does a frozen tear look like?" Minsoo asked Sebastian._

" _It's basically a gemstone that looks like a drop of water. It shines and all." The raven-haired boy replied. The Korean man nodded before walking out of the lift to be greeted by the cold atmosphere of the fortieth level. Jane too was shivering. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but it was thin._

" _Damnit, I should've brought you a coat." Sebastian said as he removed his coat and helped Jane wear it. The farmer, flattered by her boyfriend's kindness, turned around for a kiss. "Nothing to worry about." Sebastian stuttered, surprised by the sudden act of affection._

 _Searching continued until Jane noticed something between two bluish rocks. She asked her brother to remove them, which Minsoo did and smashed one of the rocks. With that cleared, Jane moved closer to find something she needed: Two frozen tears. She gasped with glee as she picked them up. It was beautiful. The surface of the gems were so pure that she could see her reflection smiling at her, which she was already smiling back at._

" _It's beautiful. Are they frozen tears?" Minsoo asked as Sebastian approached them._

" _Yup. Beautiful, aren't they?" The raven haired boy replied in behalf._

" _Yeah. It is. Wait, isn't that what I've said…" He was cut off by a sudden object flying in between Jane's legs. The farmer screamed in terror._

" _Skeletons!" The raven-haired boy yelled._

" _Haneul, Get cover!" The farmer's brother yelled, helping her sister behind a big stone. Jane peeked up to find two skeletons throwing bones at her boyfriend and brother._

 _He readied his submachine gun, removed safety mode and pulled the trigger._

 _ **TATATATATATA!**_

 _Minsoo fired his submachine gun at the monsters while he rolled for cover behind a boulder. Two sharp bones flew above him, and hie retaliated with another spray of bullets. One skeleton took all the bullets and shattered into individual bones while the other one approached the aspiring chef._

" _NOBODY HARMS MY SISTER!" Minsoo bellowed as he charged at the skeleton and threw martial arts kicks at its face. He then pulled out his knife and proceeded to stab any hole he could find multiple times, something Jane didn't expect from her brother. After a punch on the skull, the monster shattered just like its fallen brethren. Minsoo gave a sigh as he turned to the couple. "You two okay?" He asked._

" _Y-yeah." Sebastian replied. Jane nodded._

" _Well, you see why I want to go down with my sister?"_

" _I guess so. They die more easily with shotgun shells, though."_

" _...But you didn't use them!"_

" _I know. Hey, can you pick up the slugs?"_

" _Sure." Minsoo grunted before bending over to pick up the bullet cases that he had expended during the small skirmish. "Just like training." he said to himself._

* * *

"Well, it's getting late. Look, we should get going. Thanks for the gemstones." Minsoo said.

"Well, yeah." Sebastian replied. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to his house, something in Jane sparked. No way that she would let her boyfriend go empty handed! She tapped her brother's shoulder and pushed both her hands to him.

"What?" Minsoo asked. Jane gave him a glance as if she was wanting something. Her brother, knowing her for nineteen years, gave a smirk of recognition. He pulled out a frozen tear placed the gem on his sister's hands. The farmer smiled and walked to Sebastian and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"Hm? Jane?" The raven-haired boy asked, turning around. Jane pouted her lips and handed him the frozen tear. "...For me?" He asked as if he was surprised." The farmer nodded. "D-don't you need it for the Fair?" He took the tear.

 _I have two._ Jane replied. Suddenly, Sebastian pulled her for a kiss. A blush surged around the two as they released their lips.

"How did you know this was my favorite?" Sebastian asked, wiping a tear from his eye. "My dad always use to tell me about these." Jane smiled. She was so happy that she guessed her boyfriend's favorite thing correctly. She leaned on him for another peck on the lips before sweetly waving goodbye for today.


	33. CHAPTER 32: Rejection (Sebastian)

Walking into his room was a challenge for Sebastian today. With the frozen tear in his hands, he carefully placed the rare gem down on his desk and sat on his chair. He covered his mouth and silently sobbed.

'Dad…' he thought. 'You used to tell me about this thing. God, I miss you. Why did you have to go in the mines that time?' Tears rolled down his cheeks.

* * *

 _"...Marlon, how many monsters are we going to take down tomorrow?" Sebastian's father asked the Guildmaster as he was about to exit the house._

 _"It changes every day, so I can't say that. Make sure you have enough ammo for tomorrow, okay? I don't want to babysit you with a sword." Marlon replied. The two men laughed as Sebastian walked to his mother, who rubbed his hair._

 _"Mommy, what is daddy saying?" The child asked._

 _"Why don't you ask him when Marlon isn't here?" Robin asked. Just as she finished, the guild master left the house and the child's father faced his son and wife._

 _"Sebastian? Come and sit down." He said. Robin smiled as she let go of Sebastian. He sat on his tall chair with effort, making his father chuckle._

 _"Daddy, what were you talking about?" The child asked. Father swallowed his saliva before opening his mouth to let his voice of honey flow._

 _"Mr. Sterling and I were talking about the mines, son. There are monsters in there, remember?"_

 _"Yes, daddy. There are slimes, skeletons… ooo, it sounds fun!"_

 _"Now, it may be, but it is very dangerous down there, Sebastian. I will not let you in there until you're in there, understood?" Sebastian nodded. His father gave a heartwarming smile before taking something out of his satchel. What he took out was a sky-blue gemstone that was shaped like a drop of tear._

 _"Son, do. you know what a frozen tear is?" Sebastian's father asked. The child shook his head, but his eyes were locked in the gem, mesmerized by its beauty. "You're really into it, aren't you?" Father chuckled. "Let me tell you a story. Long long time ago, yetis used to live in the underground…"_

 _"Yeti?! That's so cool!" Sebastian squealed._

 _"It is, my son. Now, every night, the yetis would come out of their frozen dens and take away the bad children and would eat them up. However, one day, one of them started to cry. Why? It's because it felt sorry for the children's parents. After talking about it with its fellow yetis, they started to cry too. Their tears froze as they fell, thus creating these frozen tears. Father handed the gem to his son. "I'll give you this for being such a good boy."_

 _"Really?! Thank you so much, daddy!" Sebastian said as he threw himself to his father._

 _"He really loves you." Robin laughed._

 _"Of course, Robin." Her husband replied._

* * *

Sebastian's thought train came to a halt when his room door opened and Robin came in.

"Sebby? Are you crying?" The carpenter asked.

"It's… it's nothing, mom." Sebastian replied, wiping his tears.

"Is it Jane?"

"No, it's not. We're fine together."

"...then why are you…" Robin paused when she looked at the frozen tear on the desk. "That… that…" the carpenter was speechless.

"Yeah, mom. It's a frozen tear."

"Oh…" the carpenter replied as she slowly walked out of the room. Sebastian sighed. Could this gem remind his mother about her first husband? Maybe. The Raven-haired boy took another glance at the frozen tear. So pure. So shiny. So smooth. Other than his father, why did it remind him of Jane? Who knows. Sebastian decided to place the frozen tear in the wardrobe filled with his father's weapons. He placed the guns that he used today too.

* * *

Abigail's birthday was tomorrow and now was the night before it. The purple haired girl seemed to be eager about it. Her Facebook page was full of mentions of the next day's event, which slightly annoyed Sebastian as it plagued his home page. Just as he was scrolling through aimlessly, Jane's message snapped him back.

 _-Haneul Park: Sebby~~~~_

 _-세비찡_

 _'The hell does that mean?' Sebastian thought as he typed his response._

 _-Sebastian Callahan: yes, master?_

 _-Haneul Park: lol_

 _-you planning on bringing anything for Abby's bday?_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: eh, I get her hairpins_

 _-that's what I gave her last year_

 _-Haneul Park: aww_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: wbu?_

 _-Haneul Park sent a photo._

The photo Jane sent was herself holding a pumpkin the size of a dog. Her smile melted the Raven-haired boy's heart.

 _-Sebastian Callahan: How did you know that Abby loves pumpkins?_

 _-she even begged her dad to drive to Zuzu just to buy a pumpkin._

 _-Haneul Park: XD_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: 10/10 IGN_

 _-Haneul Park: We should go to the city some time_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: my wallet cries_

 _-lol jk_

 _-sure_

 _-What's your brother bringing tomorrow?_

 _-Haneul Park: idk_

 _-Let me ask._

Sebastian laid back on his chair. He opened another tab on Chrome and searched random things he could think of, such as shower thoughts, videogame wikis, an article about how to give a girl an org..

He quickly erased it from the search bar, his cheeks slightly rosy by the small lewd thought. Why would he think of that? Who knows. At the same time, Jane responded, making Sebastian return to the Facebook tab.

 _-Haneul Park: He was like 'wtf'_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: lol_

 _-y tho_

 _-Haneul Park: He'll be making chocolate cake for her._

 _-Gus told him to_

 _-Sebastian Callahan: So sad_

 _-Haneul Park: y would it be?_

'Good question.' Sebastian thought before he stood up from his seat, left the Shop and headed for the mines with a shotgun in search for a birthday present.

* * *

Today was the day. Sebastian was helping Jane with the crops as usual. Yams have matured and he, his girlfriend and Minsoo were rooting them out from the soil. With her brother next to him, the Raven-haired boy couldn't stop himself from asking a question. "Hey, Minsoo." He called.

"What?" Minsoo replied, throwing two yams into a basket.

"What do you think about Abby's birthday?"

"Hmm? Oh jeez, not this again." The man grunted.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, Sebastian. She's pretty annoying. All she talks about is K-Pop and K-Dramas. I'll be honest, I do watch the newest ones except the romance because they're too corny for me. Abigail, however, just pours out what she saw from those dramas. You get the point?" Sebastian paused to combine what he had heard. Apparently Abigail seemed to push Minsoo with things he has not much interest in. That explains why he's so annoyed. He gave a nod. "Tres bien. Gus told me to bake a large chocolate cake for the party. I find it strange because… 알잖아 (You know), I'm not a confectioner."

"Hmm? I thought cooks normally do that?" The raven-haired boy asked, confused.

"Well, we do in a small scale. You know those small dessert cakes?" Sebastian nodded. "Those things."

"I see." The raven-haired boy nodded when Jane came to the two boys with a basket filled with yams. "Hey, Jane." He smiled at his girlfriend. Just as he was about to lean in for a small peck, Minsoo's throat clearing prevented it. Jane looked at her brother with a pout and then turned to Sebastian with a disarming smile. "So, are we done with the harvest?" She nodded.

"빨리 하자. 닭들에게 알을 받고 난 살롱으로 가야돼. (Let's hurry. I need to go to the Saloon after getting the eggs from the chickens.) I hope that chicken won't peck me again." Minsoo remarked, walking away. Before Sebastian followed, Jane stopped him.

"What's up?" He asked. Jane started to type on her phone. The Raven-haired boy knew that she'll mention a name.

 _Do you think Abby likes him?_ Sebastian smirked when he saw the screen.

"She told me do after we crushed the cranberries." Jane's eyes widened when she heard that. A mischievous grin formed in her face as she started typing something. What the Raven-haired boy saw made the grin contagious.

 _Wanna play Cupid?_

"Oh, yes. You have the answers in your head." The raven-haired boy smirked. Just as he thought. He wasn't the person to matchmake or be a third wheel, however. "Uh… so how're we going to do it?" Jane hummed in thought. Anticlimatically, she shrugged. "Oh well, so much for that. Do you think she'll confess today?" She shrugged.

 _It's obvious._ She signed.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Wonder what drama she'll cause today."

 _I hope my brother won't reject her._

"Yeah, I hope so." Sebastian nodded, but something came in her mind. "Hey, come to think about it, if he accepts Abby's feelings…" Jane looked at him as if she knew and her mischievous smile returned. "...then we won't have anyone to make fun of!" Jane burst into laughter by this. Just then, Iseul popped into existence on top of the yam basket and waved. The farmer gave a gasp of glee and Sebastian waved it it.

"What happened?" The Junimo asked. Sebastian saw Jane staring at it as if she was mentally conversing with it. "Abigail's birthday? What are you going to do?"

"Birthday presents. That's all I can think of." The raven-haired boy replied.

"That's not a nice way of showing friendship."

"What else can I do?"

"I think you know." With Iseul's words, Sebastian grunted. He had no idea what the Junimo was talking about. He decided to leave the conversation between Jane and the magical creature as they spoke with their mind.

"...he can, but he won't be able to understand me. He's not one with the Forest!" Jane nodded at every word Iseul spewed out.

'I think they're talking about how her brother would react when he sees this guy.' Sebastian thought. It abruptly ended when Minsoo called from the coop.

"Hey! You lots coming to help or not? I'm getting attacked by the chickens!" The brother called. Jane, hearing this, became frantic as she started to limp towards the coop. Sebastian immediately held her arm and steadied her movement.

"Remember me, okay?" Jane nodded before she pecked the Raven-haired boy's lips.

* * *

With Minsoo gone to the Stardrop Saloon to prepare for Abigail's birthday party, Sebastian decided to spend the time with his girlfriend until five o'clock by going back home, retrieving his gaming laptop and returning to Agria Farm. When he opened the door, he saw Jane already making preparations with her own computer. Overwatch was on, making Sebastian smile.

"You're ready already?" Jane nodded happily. The Raven-haired boy powered his laptop on and turned on the same game. The couple joined a random match which lead them to the El Dorado map. Jane chose D Va as her hero while Sebastian as Junkrat. This was unexpected. The farmer normally chose support heroes. "I thought you normally choose Ana?" The Raven-haired boy asked.

 _FlyToTheSky: I also choose D Va_ Jane typed on the game chat. Sebastian nodded as the game's countdown timer went to zero. The game ad begun.

…

"It's high noon…"

"Jane, McCree!" Sebastian yelled, startling the farmer. In screen, D Va flew to the enemy McCree with her defense matrix on, preventing the enemy from using his ultimate ability. The Raven-haired boy smiled as he continued firing his grenade launcher until a Pharah killed him. "I'm dead." He grunted. He saw that three more allies died and decided to ask something.

 _SHADOW: mercy do you have ult?_

 _khorne: yup_

Good. At least he can return to the battlefield… the Mercy was running away from the dead heroes.

 _SHADOW: Mercy wtf where are you going_

Jane burst into laughter as she followed the hero out of the firefight.

"Jane, you're our only fighter! You really expect Symmetra to fight alone?!" Just as Sebastian finished, the said support hero died. Just then, the Mercy used her ultimate ability in the firefight, reviving the downed team including the Raven-haired boy.

'Finally!' Sebastian sighed before returning to combat. The game ended in victory when Jane used her ultimate ability to annihilate the enemy team. Just in time, it was five in the afternoon. Jane closed the game and shook the Raven-haired boy's shoulder as if she's begging to go. "Right, let's go." He said as he took his laptop. He took his girlfriend outside, and sped to Pelican Town.

* * *

Just like the days that weren't Friday, the Stardrop Saloon wasn't bustling with people unlike yesterday. Gus and Emily greeted Sebastian and Jane when they turned to face the entrance door open by them.

"Oh, if it isn't the farmer! Come in!" Gus cheerfully greeted. Jane bowed before Emily smiled at her.

"Your brother's in the kitchen, Jane!" Emily chirped.

"Did someone mention my sister?!" The voice of Minsoo called from behind the wall. His face peeked from a hole. "안녕, 하늘아! (Hi, Haneul!)" he greeted. "Hey, Sebastian."

"Yo." Sebastian waved. "So, I suppose Abby's there?" He asked, pointing at the leisure room.

"Yo, Seb!" Sam called from the said room. Grunting, the Raven-haired boy escorted Jane into the room.

The couple was greeted by Abigail, Sam and Penny. Abigail was browsing something through her phone while Sam and Penny were looking at Sebastian and the farmer. The birthday girl locked her phone and threw herself to Jane. While the small greetings took its place, Sebastian looked around the enclosed room. The only decorations of the place were purple balloons. K-Pop music pounded through the two speakers which made the Raven-haired boy sigh.

'Always the Korean songs…' Sebastian thought as he turned to find Abigail attempting to sing along the song while Jane giggled as she hummed along the tune. Boy, the purple haired girl's language was horrible. If she wouldn't sing, maybe he would have found the song pretty catchy. What was the name of the song…

"Rookie is so good!" Abigail chirped and Jane nodded to it. The farmer signaled her to wait as she bent over to pick up the big pumpkin. The purple haired girl gasped followed by a squeal.

"OH MY GOD I SERIOUSLY LOVE THIS!" She screamed, bear hugging Jane. "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Sebastian became concerned as his gi Pfriems started to gag.

'Hope that's a joke.' He thought.

The party went as usual as it could be. Sebastian gave Jane her space and hanged out with Sam on the pool table while the girls gathered up on the couches.

"This song…" Sebastian grunted as more Korean music blared from the speakers. He took a shot and a solid ball went in, but it wasn't the way he wanted it to be. "Gah, it's annoying."

"Nah, bro. It's fine for me." Sam mockingly replied. "You just need to understand good music."

"Ugh, not you too…"

"Bro, I'm just kidding." Sam laughed.

"Dude, I know it's because this song distracts me. Wait until Minsoo comes in. See how annoyed HE'LL get."

"How so?"

"Abby's been… kind of a hot guy magnet recently. I mean, look Sam. She's been talking about K-Pop ever since Jane's brother arrived." Sebastian paused when he noticed Sam's confused expression. "Okay, let's put it this way. How long has she been talking about Korean stuff?"

"Uh… five years?" Sam answered.

"Exactly. She didn't want to share her interest THIS much until Minsoo came." Sam hummed in thought.

"Well, guess you're right, bro. She keeps talking about the country after all. You think she'll confess to him today?" Sebastian shrugged.

"Jane and I've been talking about that. Doubt it, though."

"Why?"

"Pretty sure Minsoo'll just tell her to piss off. Whatever the outcome, it'll be a sight." Sebastian smirked.

Just as the two boys started another game, the door of the leisure room opened, revealing Minsoo and Gus with plates of food. "Happy birthday, Abigail!" Gus cheerfully said as he laid plate after plate on the pool table along with his new foreign employee. Plates of spaghetti, pizza and salmon gave the Aroma of Delight to Sebastian as everyone grabbed a plate and took bites and forkfuls into their mouths. Finally, the piece de resistance, the chocolate cake. Surprisingly, Minsoo stayed, causing some questions to form in Sebastian's mind. Could he also have a crush on Abigail?

Sam picked up his guitar and sang the famous happy birthday song before Abigail blew out the candles. Everybody cheered when all candles became extinguished. Just as she was about to cut the cake, Jane looked at Sebastian and Sam and then to Minsoo with the mischievous smile. Oh boy did the Raven-haired boy knew where this was going when he saw his girlfriend's hand near the purple haired girl's head. Sam gave a wink and Sebastian did his best to hide his chuckle. With that, Jane thrust her hand on her friend's head, which lead to Abigail falling face first into the cake.

"Jane, oh my god!" Abigail whined when she removed her face from the now damaged cake. The farmer giggled in response. Everybody else burst into laughter, and Minsoo's laughter was the loudest of them all. "REVENGE!" Abigail screamed as she threw a ball of cake at the farmer. Everybody else stayed away from the cake fight until the two girls settled down and enjoyed the cake.

* * *

The small party ended at 10 o'clock at night when everybody started to leave after giving birthday presents to the birthday girl. Jane and Sebastian headed to the park d motorcycle to take the farmer home. Just as the Raven-haired boy turned the engine on, Jane stopped him.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked. He turned to see Jane putting one index finger on her lips and the other pointing at the corner behind the saloon. The boyfriend focused his ears, which enabled him to hear familiar voices. Sebastian helped his girlfriend dismount the bike and the couple peeked to find Minsoo and Abigail talking to each other.

"...so why did you bring me here? Your party's over." Minsoo said, his arms crossed. Abigail was fumbling with her fingers, daring not to look at his face.

"I… I've been thinking ab...about this…" Abigail stuttered. Her face was rosier than a man in a sauna.

"Are you okay?"

"Y… yes I am. Th-the thing is…" Minsoo, without a change in expression, continued to stare at her. "God, this is hard. I-I… I just wanted to tell you h-how I feel…" Jane clenched her mouth with her hands. Sebastian's eyes widened. Could this be it?! So soon?

"Are you here to talk about how you feel about me?" Minsoo said.

"Y-yeah… I-I can't stop thinking about…" suddenly, Minsoo stopped her there.

"Are you saying this because I'm Korean?" Minsoo grunted. Abigail was about to say something… "Jesus Christ, Abigail. Should I be honest? You're creeping the living hell out of me. All you say to me is K-Pop stuff! God, I'm sorry, but you're so annoying!" Abigail's face turned to dread by hearing this. "Please, leave me alone! Goodbye." Minsoo shouted before walking to Sebastian and Jane's direction. Abigail froze like ice in one place as tears started to form in her eyes. She slowly walked back to the General Store as if she had lost her parents.

'Oh dear, what now?' Sebastian thought. He noticed Jane staring at him with eyes of concern. His heart leapt at what he had seen, too. The couple shared eye contact and quickly mounted the bike before Minsoo came around the corner.

"What happened?" Sebastian asked.

"None of your business! Take my sister to the farm. I have unfinished business." Minsoo scoffed before walking to the saloon.

"It's Abby, isn't it?" Minsoo stopped.

"아이씨… (God damnit…) It's her fault that she's been annoying me for the past two weeks. Maybe if she wasn't such an addict an understood not every Korean is the same, maybe there might be a chance! I don't care what she does. 기분 존나 나쁘네… (It's making me nuts…)" he said before closing the saloon for behind, leaving the couple looking at the door.

 _I think he had a chance_. Jane signed.

"What do you mean? He rejected her in public!" Sebastian replied.

 _He easily feels sorry_.

"Hmm?"

 _Let's give them some time_.

"Whatever you say, Jane." The Raven-haired boy said before revving the bike engine and speeding east.


	34. CHAPTER 33: Friend (Jane)

With the door closed behind her room, Jane gave a sigh of worry. Most of this was pointed at Abigail, her best friend. She and Sebastian had just witnessed the rejection of her brother. Who knows what would happen to Abigail. The farmer knew that she is devastated of what Minsoo had said. She could already feel the purple haired girl cry in her room. The question is, would she get over it? What would Minsoo think? How would he fare with the girl he had rejected living so close to the farm?

Jane pushed the thoughts away. It was already eleven at night and she was too tired for a shower. Thus, she removed her prosthetic leg, placed it near her bed and laid her head on the pillow. She would have fallen asleep if it weren't for her Facebook messenger ringing.

 _-Abigail Berneau: Jane_

 _-hi_

Jane stared at the chat menu for some time. After a few seconds of thinking, her fingers flew through the phone screen.

 _-Haneul Park: hi_

 _-what's up?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: nm_

 _-I wanna ask u something_

 _-Haneul Park: Minsoo?_

A long pause followed.

 _-Abigail Berneau: yes_

 _-does he like me?_

Judging by the timing between each text, Jane knew that her friend was having trouble thinking if she should type. In fact, even she was in the same situation. Would what she was thinking be considered as infiltrating privacy? Would it damage her friendship? Would...

 _-actually, nvm_

 _-i'll tell you_

 _-he rejected me_

Never mind. Jane gave a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have to risk her friendship being broken. She decided to act as if she didn't know.

 _-Haneul Park: you confessed to him today?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: yes_

 _-Haneul Park: I'm so sorry_

 _-Abigail Berneau: it's okay_

Jane shook her head. She knew that it definitely wasn't so. Oh, how she wanted to help if she knew how. Right now, all she could do is ask.

 _-Haneul Park: do you still like him?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: I can't get over it_

 _-i've been feeling this since I first saw him in skype_

 _-why did he reject me?_

 _-Haneul Park: what did he say to you?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: he said that I was annoying._

Just as Jane was about to type, she heard the farmhouse's door close. Minsoo was back.

 _-Haneul Park: are you sure you still like him?_

 _-Abigail Berneau: yes_

 _-Haneul Park: from what i know, my brother feels bad for shouting_

 _-he has a tendency to feel sorry whenever he does whatever happened today_

 _-just act like it didn't happen_

 _-i'll try to talk to him about it._

Jane bid her goodbye before resting her hands for the day. She wanted to share a talk with Sebastian, but she was too tired and he may be working on his computer. She decided to sleep for the day. Work awaited her in the morning anyway.

"What happened?" Iseul asked from beside her.

'My friend had a problem.' Jane mentally said.

"I think I know. Is it Abigail's love for your brother?"

'How did you know?' Jane asked in surprise.

"I can already see it from your eyes."

'That's a strange way of seeing the truth.'

"Some people do it too." Jane shrugged. Maybe that's how her mother differentiates lies from the truth.

'Do you think my brother will fall for her?'

"Maybe. We can only hope." Hope. That's a word Jane always heard, especially when she came back home from high school after getting bullied.

'I was about to ask you if magic will help…'

"You mean like a love spell?" The Junimo asked. It shook its head and continued. "You would have been punished if the wizard was here." Jane filed when she heard that.

'I know. I never liked magical love stories anyway. Love can't be manipulated.'

"Exactly. You must let it grow between the two." Jane nodded by Iseul's words with a nod. Her eyes were now growing bags under. "You should sleep." Iseul added before hopping on the farmer's face and planted something that resembled a kiss on her forehead, making Jane blush furiously. She wanted to squeal.

* * *

Preparations for the Fair was nearly done. Today was the day of the Stardew Valley Fair and Jane was eager to see this festival again. The farmer's parents have returned from Zuzu last afternoon and they too were eager to see their daughter compete in whatever this showcase grange is. Sebastian wasn't here unfortunately as Robin asked him to help her set up some things for the event, leaving only Minsoo in helping Jane.

Due to the lack of her boyfriend, the farmwork was a bit slower than usual for Jane. This was prominent especially when the siblings were trying to take the eggs away from the chickens. The farmer had bought two new chicks in the bar of Alphys and Undyne.

"Haneul, you really need to lay off the Undertale." Minsoo smirked.

 _Too late._ Jane signed with a giggle before reaching out to Sans to get its eggs. Minsoo swore when Papyrus pecked his hands again.

"Please, you fried chicken! Let me get your eggs!" The brother yelled, making his sister burst into laughter. 'Fried Chicken'? Wow. "What?!" Minsoo whined, but Jane simply shook her head in response. She waved him off while a tear dropped from her eye. "I swear, if it pecks me one more time, I'm seriously going to send it to the ranch and slaughter it!"

 _She doesn't slaughter!_ Jane signed.

"Then how the hell do you have meat here?" Jane shrugged. That was actually a good question. She buys meat from the General Store, but she didn't bother being curious about how the meat ended up there. "Wow, this place is more controversial than celebrity scandals!" Minsoo said just as their parents entered the coop.

"Minsoo, I heard you screaming again." Mother asked. Jane simply pointed at Papyrus, who just clucked with curiosity.

"The chicken pecked me!" Minsoo replied.

"Don't fault the chicken! Maybe you're treating it badly!" Jane proceeded to tip the chicken over to get its eggs while the quarrel went on.

Little did she know that what was under it surprised everyone.

The farmer gasped once the chicken got out of her way, snapping her mother and brother's attention to her. There were five eggs, but they were abnormally large; three times bigger than the normal ones.

"They're so big!" Jane's mother remarked. "I feel bad for the chicken, though." The siblings shrugged.

 _I think I'll use it for the fair._ Jane typed on her phone.

"Okay! Your father has been making a list of what you want to bring. I can't wait to see how this Fair your grandfather told me is like!" Jane smiled at how her mother couldn't wait for the event. She couldn't, too. She turned to Minsoo and prepared her hands.

 _What are you going to do in the Fair?_

"I thought you knew? I have to work with Gus with the food." Minsoo replied. "I need to go before the nine o'clock." Jane pouted by that. "Hey, you like a good barbecue, right?" That cheered her right up. The farmer's eyes widened and her mouth welled with saliva. "That's why I call you a T-Rex." Jane whined and slapped Minsoo's shoulder. "Alright, enough with that, let's get ready to leave." Jane nodded before placing the giant eggs in her basket. She followed her brother out of the coop after a short petting session for her chickens and checked her kegs. Her father came out of the farmhouse and checked what her daughter was doing. He instantly knew what was happening and walked back into the house and returned with five unlabeled wine bottles and a glass.

 _Do you want to check the wine?_ Jane asked.

"Of course, Haneul! Why would I reject my very daughter's wine?" Father beamed, handing the farmer the wine glass. Jane smiled as she poured a small sample from a a tap and handed the glass with the red liquid back to her father. He whirled the liquid around and then took a small sip. His eyes widened as he gave a hum of positivity. "세상에 (Oh my)! This is the best wine I've ever tasted!" Jane gave a big smile when she heard such compliment. This was her first attempt at producing wine and somebody liked it! "Here, have some." her father suddenly said. Awkwardly taking the glass, Jane closed her eyes as she took one careful sip on her own produce. She frowned. It didn't taste sour like the berries itself, but more like acetone as it tasted as if it smelled like so. "Oh, Haneul, you're so cute when you try something bitter." Her father chuckled as he took back the glass. "Here, I'll help you bottle up the wine."

Everything was packed for the showcases: Bottles of cranberry wine, a large frozen tear, an amethyst, her biggest and highest quality pumpkin, a basket filled with blueberries, an aquarium with a tuna that Minsoo helped Jane catch, a batch of corn, the basket of the large eggs that Jane picked today and some mushrooms. Jane loaded a wheelbarrow with her items and made final preparations with Minsoo. Jane decided to wear a checkered shirt and overall jeans followed with a straw hat to look like a farmer. Minsoo, in the other hand, wore a white formal shirt and a red apron. Everybody was ready. The Park siblings bid their parents a 'see you soon' and left Agria Farm in high optimism.

* * *

Pelican Town was looking like as if there was a construction happening when Jane and Minsoo arrived. Lewis was supervising the tent constructions, people that Jane had never seen before, who were presumably staff members wandered around and Marnie, Pierre and Willy were setting up their grange displays. Strangely, unlike four granges like when Jane saw during her last Fair, there were apparently six. One for Pierre, Jane, Willy and Marnie, but the other two unknown. 'I wonder who will be there…' Jane thought as she continued to push her wheelbarrow to the showcase right next to Pierre's. His items looked unusually fresh, especially melons, which Jane could only grow in Summer.

"Oh, hello Jane!" Pierre greeted the farmer, which Jane responded with a bow. "Are you going to showcase things from your farm?" She nodded. "Very well. I wish you good luck! It's your pride, after all." The shopkeeper smiled as he arrogantly turned back to whatever he was facing.

"Jesus, that guy…" Minsoo grunted. Jane simply sighed as she turned to her wheelbarrow. When her brother wasn't looking, Iseul popped out from the items and looked around. Jane had to push her limits from squealing due to how adorable it looked.

While Minsoo helped Jane place her items on the grange, the farmer backed away to see how it all looked. Not right enough. She walked back and rearranged the things so that they looked perfect from afar. When she thought that she was done, the siblings turned to find the first three tourists coming from the bus stops and walking towards Pelican Town.

"Hey, one of them look familiar…" Minsoo mumbled as he squinched his eyes. Shrugging, Jane turned back to find Abigail helping her father with his grange. She waved at her when she looked at her, but the cheery tone of the purple haired girl was… slightly diminished. Could it be due to the rejection? Who knows.

"Hi, Jane…" Abigail greeted with a smile, but Jane knew that it was forced. She knew that Abigail hadn't given up on him. It was understandable, for some reason. The farmer limped to her friend and typed on her phone.

 _Are you okay?_

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"

 _I want to be with you._

"Sure!" Abigail replied, her face brightening. "But nothing's ready though…"

 _After when everything is ready._

"Okay!" Jane smiled. At least her purple haired friend was happy. She turned back to her own grange to find Sebastian talking to Minsoo.

"...You're gonna take credit or something?" Sebastian asked.

"Nah, she made these all by herself. She should get everything." Minsoo replied.

"Really? You've worked so hard to help your sister's farm… uh… thrive? I don't know if that's that right word to say."

"You know, I think I'm the one who's supposed to say that. You've been with her since she first came here. Did I tell you how thankful I am to you?"

"Well, I guess…" Sebastian scratched the back of his head just when Jane tapped on his shoulder. He turned to face her, who was immediately greeted by a tight hug.

"Ow, hi Jane. Please release me?" Jane giggled and shook her head.

"Haneul, PDA please!" Minsoo sighed, palm on his face.

"Y-yeah…" Sebastian grunted by the pressure Jane was applying to him. He seemed to be staring at something, so Jane looked away to find that tourists and the townspeople were staring at them. Blushing, the farmer released her boyfriend and attempted to apologize until a voice interrupted.

"Hey excuse me, but… you look familiar." A voice said. Jane turned to find a tall asian man with short black hair wearing a green shirt talking to Minsoo.

"Excuse me?" Minsoo turned around to meet the man. "Wait… you…"

"Minsoo?"

"Yuto?"

"What… what the hell are you doing here?" Everything seemed to go awkward between the two men until Minsoo gave the most masculine cheer and embraced his long lost friend.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Minsoo asked.

"I'm on tour with my girlfriend and this Fair opened coincidentally." Yuto replied, pointing at a Japanese woman who seemed to be slightly younger than him. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I'm here to help my sister's farm."

"Sister?"

"Yeah, she's right here." Jane's brother turned to her, and she bowed to his friend.

"Hi! Nice to meet you!" Yuto's girlfriend waved at Jane.

"Haneul. Jane's her English name." Minsoo said. "She's… mute."

"Nice to meet you, Haneul." Yuto smiled. Jane sheepishly smiled in behalf. "Who's that?" The Japanese asked, looking at Sebastian.

"That's her boyfriend."

"Uh… hello." Sebastian awkwardly greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Sebastian. If you expected me to say Sebastian-kun, Sebastian-san or Sebas-chan, you're a weeaboo." The raven-haired boy snickered at Yuto's words. Jane burst into laughter. "I'm Minsoo's culinary school friend. Sushi chef, if you're wondering."

"Whoa. That's… nice."

"He loves sashimi." Abigail walked into the conversation. Jane noticed that the purple haired girl was ignoring her brother. This was unusual, but the farmer at least knew that Minsoo won't be so annoyed.

"Abby, not now." Sebastian grunted.

"Heh, too bad the restaurant I work in is in Kyoto. Sorry, buddy. Maybe you can see me when you manage to come to my country!" Yuto assured, then turned to his friend. "Anyway, how's the restaurant job doing for you?"

"I worked for two Seasons in a restaurant until I was permitted by my chef teacher to come here. Besides, I'm working here in the saloon until I go back. Now if you excuse me, I have to go to my work station."

"Minsoo, come help me prepare for the barbecue!" Gus called.

"That's my call. Have fun, you all!" The brother waved before running up north. With both Minsoo and Yuto gone, it left Jane, Sebastian and Abigail on the grange. The farmer looked around to already find the town square filled with people. It wasn't long until her parents approached the three.

"Haneul! Your showcase looks great!" Her mother remarked. Jane would be lying if she wasn't blushing at that moment. She smiled with gratefulness. "This place looks so lively, as if it's a market!"

 _The mayor should start the Fair soon._ Jane signed. Just as she finished, Lewis walked to the center of the town square with a megaphone in hand.

"May I have your attention please?" Mayor Lewis called, drawing the attention of the now crowded place, bustling with tourists. "As the mayor of Pelican Town, I would like to say welcome to our annual and 148th Stardew Valley Fair! I can already see that this year will go out well! Unlike last year, when there were only three granges, we have six! We also have more game tents this year that we all can enjoy!"

"Damn, he speaks alot. In fact, he's worse than my sergeant." Jane's father muttered, making Sebastian chuckle.

"Looks like I've taken too long." Lewis suddenly said as if he read Minsoo's mind. "Let the 2019 Stardew Valley Fair… BEGIN!" With that, everyone clapped and returned to whatever they were doing. Since Jane was done with her work and her parents were now away, all she needed to do was wait for her boyfriend to finish helping his mother work on her grange, which was filled with things for carpentry. right next to the carpenter was Leah, who was setting up sculptures and artwork. Jane found it so beautiful.

"Jane, uh… wanna play the games…?" Abigail asked. The farmer definitely nodded in response. She felt that she needed to accompany her friend in this event, just like eleven years ago. She let Abigail go first with an excuse of preparing her grange, then turned to Sebastian and requested to pick Iseul up from the wheelbarrow and place it in her overall pants' pocket.

 _She's so adorable!_ Jane signed.

"Yeah. Too bad I can't take a picture of you two." Sebastian replied.

'Don't show yourself to the people, okay? Only you and my boyfriend!' The farmer instructed with her mind.

"Of course!" Iseul relied, poking out from the pocket. Jane showed a big smile as she scratched its head.

 _I'll have some time with Abby._ Jane typed on her phone and then showed it to Sebastian.

"Sure. I needed some time with Sam anyways… as long he's not clinged to Penny." Sebastian replied. Jane shrugged before giving a peck on his lips. "See you around." He added before walking away.

* * *

For the next few hours, Jane and Abigail spent some time together mostly playing games in the tents. Jane mostly spent her time in the fishing tent attempting to catch at least six fish before the timer ran out while Abigail giggled away as she failed miserably. Of course, Abigail tried it too, but she fared worse, catching only two. She screamed whenever the fish flapped away next to her, letting go two back into the water. The two girls soon went a lone tent that was placed next to the graveyard where Rasmodius stared at the farmer as if he was attempting to say something. Jane bowed to greet him, confusing Abigail.

'Continue the Junimos' quest, young one.' The Wizard telepathically said before looking back to at the tent.

"Are you okay?" Abigail asked. Jane nodded it off as she grabbed the purple-haired girl's shoulder and limped towards the tent.

Jane exited the tent with Abigail with mixed emotions. Inside the tent was a fortune teller named Welwick, who told her that she'll face her past demons in the near future, but her beloved will always side her. 'Wonder what that means.' She thought as she walked back to the Town Square with Abigail. They ended up in the north of Town where where there was a giant grill with sizzling meat on top. Gus and Minsoo were cooking beef patties on the said grill. Each patty released an unquenchably delicious aroma that made Jane and Abigail drool from behind. Oh, how she was hungry.

"It's kinda funny that this is the first time I've done outdoor barbecues." Minsoo said.

"I see. Isn't it fun?" Gus chuckled.

"I guess, sir. Hey, who's behind us?" The brother turned around to find her sister and her… friend. "Oh hey Haneul! Uhm… Abigail." His mood dropped down. Jane waves her hand in response.

"Eat all you want, you two! The barbecue's free, thanks to the mayor!"

"Food's over there." Minsoo said, pointing at the sandwiches and wieners on trays. Abigail's mood brightened as the two girls grabbed their plates and filled them with food. They looked around the 'diner' to find the benches bustling with tourists. They were munching on their sandwiches, wieners and steaks while either complementing the sauce used in the cooking or talking about what they'll do in the fair. Jane found an empty bench for the two girls to sit on, so they did and began digging into their food. Obviously, the farmer was the first person to take a bite of her beef sandwich. When her jaws closed and the juices escaped and coated her mouth, her eyes widened at the deliciousness that Gus's special sauce has given. A normal Korean girl would squeal and rant about how good the food is.

That wasn't the case of Jane.

Just like a vacuum cleaner, the rate of which food entered Jane's small mouth hastened. All she wanted to do was feel the taste and warmth of the food and nothing else. She would have gone for seconds until…

"Jane! You're doing it again!" Abigail exclaimed, laughing. This made Jane pause and look at her friend, who was recording her actions with her phone. "I'm so going to post this in Facebook." She said with an evil glare. Horrified, Jane attempted to get up and snatch her phone, but her prosthetic leg prevented her. "Revenge for the pillow, Jane!" Abigail stuck her tongue out as Jane gave a sigh of defeat. "You know what? I think I know a way to get me delete the video." The farmer's eyes snapped back to the purple-haired girl, eager for the order. "I want to know how Minsoo's doing." The farmer gave a funny look. Sure, she gave a small consulting to her, but this was strange. "I know. We've talked about this three days ago. I just... I…" Abigail stuttered. "I want to know how he feels right now." With those words, Jane paused and fell into thought. Sure, Minsoo rejected Abigail's confession during her birthday. However, ever since then, her brother seemed to have been acting rather strange. His joking manner seemed to be deteriorating and his smile seemed to becoming smaller. Indeed, something was wrong. Could it be guilt? The farmer could only nod as she pulled her phone out and started typing.

 _My brother seemed to be sad after your birthday. The last time I asked him about you, he seemed to sigh and look sad. He doesn't get angry, but I don't know what that means._ After Abigail read the text, she gave a sigh as she bit on her wiener.

"Thanks, Jane. So, should I… I mean, wait a bit longer?" Abigail then proceeded to lean closer to Jane. "...I… ugh, I just can't stand not being with him…" She whispered. The farmer gave a sigh before resuming her speech.

 _I'll tell you what happens. Seb and I decided to help you. Don't worry._

"Th-thank you, Jane. I…" Abigail was cut short by a certain blonde boy sitting down next to her.

"Yo, Abby! A double date with Jane?" Sam enthusiastically asked. Abigail frowned in annoyance while Jane sighed. She smiled however as she saw Sebastian next to him.

"Hey, Jane." the raven-haired boy greeted, which the farmer reacted with a cute wave.

"Seb, I saw your girlfriend cheat with Abby. What do you have to say?" Sam asked.

"Sam…" Sebastian facepalmed. "Please. We've talked through this."

"You wound me." Sam mockingly said, clenching his chest. Everybody else rolled their eyes, tired of receiving the blond battery of stamina's torments. if only they had a way to change the subject…

" **Would all grange contestants report to the town square please? The judging will begin in ten minutes! I repeat, ten minutes!"** Lewis's voice echoed through the megaphone. Jane sighed in relief. A savior from an unexpected person! With the aid of her boyfriend, Jane rose from the bench and limped down from the diner and towards the town square.

* * *

While she made her way to her grange, she was greeted once again by her parents.

"Good luck, Haneul!" Jane's father cheered.

"I know I was skeptical of your grandfather, but I'm sure he'll be so proud of you!" Mother said, fingers crossed. Jane smiled and bowed with gratefulness before walking to her showcase. Her items were still at where it was. She was the second among the six granges, which the others being Pierre, Marnie, Willie, Leah and Robin. Jane looked at the General Store owner to find him arrogant as ever. Just how much did he win anyway? The farmer's concentration snapped back when she saw Lewis with what looked like three other judges. The mayor walked around the contestants as he spoke.

"Alright, you have been preparing since the beginning of the Season. Now is the time when you six show what you consider your best!"

"Man, he always says that." Sam grunted from the crowd.

"I wish you luck. Now, good sirs, should we begin?" Lewis asked the three men around him, which they nodded in response. One by one, the four men looked at the granges, starting from Pierre, then to Jane. As they stared at the Agria Farm's produce, the farmer couldn't help but net nervous as sweat started to dribble down her forehead and eventually drip. Her heart started to race. What if she lost? Her grandfather would have probably won every Fair, but what about her? She was nowhere near his skill but…

"It's okay. Calm down." Iseul whispered from her pocket. Jane gave it a pat as she saw Pierre smiling with arrogance painted on his head. The farmer gave a sigh of disappointment as the last grange, which was in possession of Robin was judged. The four judged formed a circle around themselves as they consulted who's grange was the best. After several nods and scribblings on paper, they faced the contestants.

"We have made our decision. As usual, we'll start with the lowest." Everybody except a certain shopkeeper tensed. "Unfortunately, 6th place goes to Willy with 21 points." The valley's fisherman sighed in defeat. "The fifth would be Leah, with 39 points." Leah pouted, but smiled anyway as she did her best. "The fourth goes to Robin, who has 56 points." The carpenter shrugged, but she was hugged by Leah and eventually a pat on the back from Demetrius. "Things are getting interesting. Now we are on the best three!" The mayor shouted. Jane's heart started to race faster than a spaceship entering warp drive. She saw her parents smiling while silently cheering her. She started to sweat and shiver. It didn't help as over a hundred eyes stared at her. Oh, how she wanted to break down if it weren't for a savior, in the form of Sebastian, walking to her and embraced her.

"Hey, it.. it's okay." The raven-haired boy assured, receiving coos from the audience. "Ugh, I regret this."

"...The third is Marnie with a score of 86 points. Kudos with the giant cheese wheel!" Marnie sighed, but gave a smile of content anyway. It didn't help Jane. It was now Pierre or her. She had come this far. She could only let fate decide. She saw the shopkeeper simply nod with an arrogant smile.

"I'll bid you goodbye, Jane." Pierre said, looking at the farmer.

"If only I could flip the finger…" Sebastian muttered.

"Now, we're up to the last two! I will say the winner first!" Oh boy. Here it goes. Jane clenched her heart as she begrudgingly awaited for the results. The intentional pauses that Lewis made to increase tension didn't help at all. "The winner of the 2019 Stardew Valley Fair with the score of 109 points is…" Jane looked once again at Pierre to see him giving the 'That would be me' face. She sighed, seeing that his victory may be imminent. She was a novice in farming after all. She didn't know if her very produce was fresh enough to compete…

"...Farmer Jane Park!"

The crowd erupted in applauses of claps. Jane gasped and covered her mouth. She couldn't believe it. For the first time in probably in a decade, she had won a contest. She turned to her boyfriend to find him smiling and wrapping his arms around her waist. Tears of joy started to flow from her eyes as she was praised by her parents and brother with big smiles and compliments. "...Which leads to second place being Pierre with 97 points." Lewis concluded.

* * *

After a parade of compliments, Jane, weighed down with one thousand star tokens, walked with Sebastian to the shop where gifts could be exchanged. There, she saw a multitude of gifts that could be bought. She saw souvenirs, chips, dolls, scarecrows… but something stood up from the rest. It was a small sealed jar with a purple star-shaped fruit…

Jane gasped. She knew exactly what it was: A stardrop.

She remembered her grandfather growing these in both plants and trees. She would sneak out of the farm at night and take a fruit and eat it, only to get caught. Her memories flowed in as she pointed at the jar.

"Whoa, you want the stardrop?" Sebastian asked with his girlfriend nodding vigorously. Jane looked at the price tag to see 2000 tokens.

 _How much do we have?_ She asked. She pulled her wallet out to find 1700.

"Hmm? I have, uh…" Sebastian proceeded to check his own wallet. "...600. Why? Wanna buy it?" Jane nodded instantly. "Sure. You won it anyway." He shrugged as he gave half of what he had to Jane. She pointed at the stardrop, which the shopkeeper nodded and handed her the fruit. Jane squealed as she took the jar.

"Well, looks like the Fair's over. Should we… go back or something?" Sebastian suggested, which Jane nodded. They both returned to the grange to pack up and rendezvous with her family back to the farm.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Greetings from Aperture!**

 **Sorry for the long wait; I had to prepare for TOEFL Exams in the 15th. Now that it's out of the way, I can post however I want!**

 **Thank you from Aperture!**

 **-ApertureGaming011**


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